A Visit to the Golden Ages
by Cosette 24601
Summary: Caspian is thrilled when Aslan gives him the chance to travel back in time to the Golden Ages. But by the first night, he already ran straight into trouble. Parody Susan, Lucy, and Caspian love triangle.
1. A Trip Back in Time

**This is a mix of book and movie verse. Of course it happens during some random time during the Golden Ages which isn't covered by either, so it doesn't really matter too much. **

**Disclaimer: If you think I might actually own Narnia, you probably need to get your head examined. **

"I do not think I am ready," Caspian told Aslan, his shame from past events still weighing on him.

"It is for that reason you are," Aslan said.

Caspian shook his head, still unsure of himself. "Is there any way to… to give me more time?"

"You are in fact ready, and yet, it would not do any good for you to doubt yourself so much. I cannot change the date of your coronation, but I can allow you to spend time in another time period. And grow there," Aslan said. "What time would you like to live during?"

"Is… is there any chance I can go to their world?" Caspian asked timidly, gesturing towards the Pevensies.

"Nay, son. It would not do you any good to be there. But you can spend time with them during the Golden Ages if you wish," Aslan said fondly.

"Then that is the time I want to visit," Caspian said eagerly, before nervously glancing at Peter. Peter smiled, making Caspian feel more confident that he would in fact be wanted in the Golden Ages.

"Then I will send you there. You must not tell anyone that you are from another time period. I will send you to Cair Paravel, and you are to say that you are a traveler from Telmar. From there, you must decide on your own what to make of your time there." Aslan breathed upon Caspian, making him disappear. Aslan's breath spread towards the Pevensies, returning the memories of Caspian during the Golden Ages which Aslan had altered so that they would not recognize him when they met him again.

Lucy started giggling, remembering how it went before. The other Pevensies looked amused as well.

"What's so funny?" Trumpkin asked.

"We can now remember what happened before. Caspian … eh… ran into some trouble. Almost instantly," Lucy giggled. "And then there was a bunch of stuff that confused us so much then that make perfect sense now."

* * *

**Caspian's POV**

I fell to the ground after Aslan breathed upon me. I could hardly believe I was getting this opportunity. It was dark out though. I looked around and saw the outline castle in the distance. It had to be Cair Paravel. I headed towards it, worriedly thinking through what I would say to Peter and the others.

"Hello there! I don't think I know you?" a voice called. I turned and saw some human, a commoner by the way he was dressed. He had an accent that I couldn't quite place. It was rather similar to the Pevensies' accent, but not quite that.

"Hello. My name is Caspian. I am traveling to Cair Paravel," I said.

"Is that so? We can walk there together than," the human said. I nodded, thinking maybe he could give me some information about the time period so I could fit in better.

"Do you work there?" I asked politely.

Oddly, he found that funny and laughed. "I suppose one could say that. Yes, yes I do in fact."

I was a bit confused on why he seemed unsure on whether he worked there or not. Perhaps he was an imbecile of some sort.

"I'm interested in working for Cair Paravel as well. I am…An accomplished knight in my home country." Saying I was a prince of Narnia wouldn't make much sense, but claiming to be an accomplished knight certainly wouldn't hurt.

"Really? I look forward to sparring with you then."

"You know how to sword fight?" I asked dubiously. Were commoners actually trained in sword fighting in the Golden Ages?

"Of course I do," he said, sounding offended.

"You don't look like the type who'd know how to," I said.

"Excuse me?" he said, sounding scandalized. "And just what do you mean by that?"

"Sorry, it may just be different here. Does every single Narnian learn to properly sword fight? Where I am from, it's just nobility."

"Who's to say I'm not nobility?" the human said with a smirk. I let out a short laugh. No noble would be caught out in clothes as poor as his. "And where exactly are you from?"

"Telmar. I doubt you know enough geography to have heard of it. It's rather far."

"And I doubt you've been in Narnia before. And you haven't been here long on this trip," the man said as we drew near to Cair Paravel's gates. This assumption annoyed me. Sure I hadn't been in Narnia in this time too long, but I've lived in Narnia my whole life. And was swordfighting really such a big thing here that it would tip him off that I didn't belong?

"What makes you say that?" I challenged."As a matter of fact, I have traveled Narnia a bit."

"I hardly doubt you would have been so impertinent and disrespectful towards me if you had any idea who I am," he said haughtily.

"You can't possibly be so conceited that you think everyone in Narnia knows you," I shot back. Who the heck did he think he was? He was really beginning to annoy me.

"You're going to regret calling me that," he threatened, grabbing me by my collar. I glared back. Seriously? Who does he think he is that he can go around threatening and grabbing people? Sure, I am not a prince here, but I still couldn't let the insult go unpunished. I pushed him off as hard as I could. He seemed to not be expecting me to fight back and almost fell. I was disappointed he didn't.

"Keep your hands off of me," he warned.

"Excuse me? You're the one who grabbed me!" I hissed back.

A centaur who had been guarding at the gate came up to us. "Is there a problem here?"

"Olori, arrest this man," the human said, snapping his fingers.

The centaur raised the torch in his hand to the human's face to see who he was, then suddenly bowed and said, "Of course, Sire." He grabbed me and pulled my arms behind my back. I didn't resist. I had recognized the man's face too. And I knew I was in major trouble.


	2. The Courts of Cair Paravel

**Thanks for the reviews! I went back and changed the first chapter after a few of you said that you found Caspian to be acting a bit too arrogant. Hopefully it reads a bit more in character now. **

**Caspian's POV**

I stared blankly at the cell wall. How was I seriously so bad at getting along with Peter? Both in my normal time and now here, we start out literally fighting each other. Before even knowing the identity of each other. Well, this time he knew my name, but that was meaningless to him. At least this time it wasn't quite as life threatening like our sword fight was about to be…. At least I think not… Peter might not have liked me much, but never after that awful night did he even hint at having me executed, so I highly doubt I'll be executed here. Hopefully. I'm not exactly sure what would happen if I did die while here. I can't imagine the Great Lion would have brought me here simply to die though. But I've made a mess of everything yet again. How am I supposed to learn from them if I am here in a prison cell for Aslan only knows how long?

* * *

**Peter's POV**

"I heard you were in some sort of attack," Susan said briskly, not bothering to knock before entering. She instantly took me into her hands and started looking me over like the mother hen she always was. As always, I pretend to be annoyed by it, but it is nice to have a sister who cares so much.

"I'm fine. Olori came over before anything bad could happen."

"So what did happen?" she asked sternly. I filled her in on the details. She sighed.

"Peter, you really need to reign in your temper."

"What?!"

"Was anything he said really that bad that it warranted a night in the dungeons? He seemed mostly confused to me."

"I didn't imprison him for what he said. He's there because he began to attack me."

"After you grabbed him. I'm not saying that what he did was right, just that I expected you to behave more maturely." She gave me a disapproving look that reminded me so much of our mother. I sighed and capitulated.

"I'll let him out first thing in the morning," I promised. That seemed to satisfy her.

"So where were you anyways? Especially dressed like that? And you better have not be alone!"

"Yes mother!" I exclaimed sarcastically. "I had a few hawks trailing me above in the air. I wanted to surreptitiously check out some reports of minotaurs in the village."

"And?"

"And wearing normal clothes didn't help me. Other than that Telmarine, everyone recognized me and of course acted completely different than how they would normally," I said, running my fingers through my hair in frustration.

"Well, you're human. That quickly narrows down who you might be. Perhaps send a faun or such that you can trust next time."

"Yeah, I would've preferred to do it myself though."

"You can't do everything by yourself. And, back to the Telmarine, if you were dressed in hopes that people would not recognize you, you can't exactly blame him for not recognizing you," Susan said sternly.

"How come you're never on my side?" I groaned.

"I'm always on your side," she protested. "I'm always the one keeping you from doing things you'd later regret." I gave her an annoyed look, not because she was wrong but rather because she was annoyingly right. She just laughed and rustled my hair.

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

"Does thou know for what crime we have called thee thus into our presence?" Peter called down to the prisoner from on his throne in what I call his "throne room voice." The trial was mainly for show however, since unless the Telamarine acted in such a way as to change our mind, his punishment had been set.

"Yes, your majesty," the Telmarine mumbled, bowing low. He looked absolutely terrified. He looked to be about the same age as Edmund and reminded me so much of how terrified my brother was after returning from the Witch's grasp. I felt so sorry for the Telmarine boy. What horrible stories do they tell of us in Telmar that made him so afraid of us?

"Art thou aware thy life is forfeit for daring to raise a hand against his majesty?" Mr. Rignas, one of the fauns said. I frowned, remembering other times that this faun was quick to condemn outsiders. Although I absolutely love Narnians, I also care about foreigners. And racism and xenophobia had no place in a courtroom, but I found it far too often in Narnia's courts. Even within my own family, I sometimes saw my family being quick to write off Calormens as all being the same, although Susan was civil about giving all the Tarkaan suitors a chance. Unfortunately for this boy, Telmarines only had a step above Calormens in being liked by Narnians.

"Yes…sir," the Telmarine said uncertainly, still staring at the ground. If he had looked up I would have given him a small smile to make him feel more comfortable. The presence of creatures that do not exist in Telmar must have been making him even more uncomfortable.

"From the intelligence we have of the occurrence, we surmised thou didst not recognize my royal brother, the High King," Susan said, more to remind the Narnians than it was for the boy's sake. "Is it so?"

"Yes, your majesty," he said, turning slightly to bow directly at her.

"Then thy actions should not be construed as an insult to the crown of Narnia," Susan stated firmly. I backed up my sister with a nod and smile.

"Thank you, your majesty," he murmured. He was staring at her in a way that made me feel rather uncomfortable. It was as if he knew her and cared for her greatly, but Susan only had a few Telmarine suitors, and I was almost certain he was not one of them. My brothers had noticed too and did not seem happy about it.

"Telmarine, does thou have a defense for thine actions?" Edmund asked redirecting the trial and Caspian's attention.

"No, your majesty. I will happily accept whatever punishment your majesties see fit," he said. We were all a bit surprised at how agreeable – overly agreeable – he was. Usually foreigners tried to weasel out by claiming they didn't understand our laws, were protected by their home country, etc.

"Thy willingness to follow our pleasure behooves us to give thee a lighter sentence," Peter said. Caspian glanced up for the first time, a look of relief on his face. "Here is our sentence for thee: No further punishment than the night thou hast already spent in our dungeons. Speak now if thou requires any assistance in thy immediate departure from our courts."

We were surprised that rather than acting relieved, the Telmarine looked absolutely terrified, perhaps even more so than before.

"No, your majesty, please, allow me to stay here," he begged, falling to his knees and holding his arms out towards us desperately. The four of us exchanged confused looks.

"For what intent and purpose does thou wish to remain in our domain, Telmarine?" Edmund asked a bit suspiciously.

"I merely wish to humbly beg your majesties for a job," Caspian said. I could tell that my siblings were suspicious, but I thought he was just excited to be here. After all, who wouldn't want to stay in Narnia? Especially Cair Paravel!

"What makes you think their majesties give employment to Telmarines?" a black dwarf named Rikabin snarled. Caspian tensed.

"Peace, cousin dwarf. Racist judgments have no place in our courts," I said with a slight frown. I was relieved to see Peter nodding his assent to that comment.

"My royal sister speaks rightly. Caspian, thou mayst remain here if thou is able to secure employment within the fortnight. Else we shall push thee out," Peter said, in a tone of voice which clarified that this was his final decision. I could tell several Narnians seemed unhappy, but said nothing, especially since Ed, Su, and I were nodding to show we were in accordance with our brother.

A few days later when I had free time, I asked after the boy, and was told he was currently in the kitchens, begging Ms. Plummia, our head chief, for a job there.

"Caspian," I greeted him.

"Your majesty," he said, bowing. I giggled to ease the tension.

"No need for such formalities! In case you didn't figure it out earlier, I'm Lucy."

"It is indeed a pleasure to be graced with your presence, Lucy," he said, smiling for the first time.

"I fear that my brother mainly gave you false hope by saying that you may stay if you find employment. Few Narnians take kindly to foreigners, and the Telmarines we have entertained before here at Cair Paravel have not been as nice as you. It is no fault of your own, but of others from your country that you have had such difficulty finding a job."

"I'm glad you think I am nice and not like some of the others from my country, Lu. Do you have any advice on how I might find employment here?" I was a bit surprised that he went from using my title almost straight into calling me by my nickname. It was almost a bit too familiar.

"I fear it may be better for you to begin preparing for a return trip home," I said sadly, not wanting to give the boy false hope.

"Please, Lu, can you help me? Surely there is something you can do? You are their queen, after all," he said earnestly. He then seemed to realize what he was asking and backtracked a bit. "My apologies, your majesty for my being too presumptuous. I merely beg for your mercy and your lovely assistance in my endeavor to seek any possible employment at Cair Paravel."

I giggled. He was being a bit over-the-top about it. "I'll do what I can. But contrary to what many may think, we do not command every little thing that happens. The head of each section of the castle makes their decisions about who to hire. I could put in a good word for you though."

"Any little thing you can do to aid me will be received gratefully," he said with a short bow.

"I don't want to get your hopes to high, but there's someone I have significant influence over who I might be able to convince to give you employment, but I can't guarantee it," I said with a grin.

"Might I ask who this person is and what sort of employment this may be?" he asked.

"You'll see. I'm not entirely sure you will enjoy this particular employment though," I said, mostly to tease him, but it could be true.

"Just being under Cair Paravel's walls would be pleasure alone," he said gallantly. I was finding that I was liking him more and more.

"Mmhmm."


	3. Seeking Employment

**Lucy's POV**

"Peter, can you help Caspian with finding a job? I think he's a good person and deserves to stay at Cair Paravel," I said, sticking out my lower lip a bit in a pout. As I expected, my pout was enough to drag him away from whatever it is he was writing.

"You think everyone's a good person," Peter sighed. He smiled, pinching my cheek fondly.

"Is that so bad?" I protested. "Anyways, at least give the boy a decent chance! I'm almost absolutely sure that you would have even let him try to become a knight if he had been from Archenland or Lone Islands!"

Peter looked angry when I said that. "Lu! Why do you even care so much? And I can't let him just stay at Cair Paravel indefinitely without him working."

"Then… give him a job," I said, patting his arm and giving him my adorable smile which I know he can't resist.

"Lu…" he complained, already giving in.

"Peter, pleeeease. I can't hire a male servant to work for me, but you can," I said with an eager smile.

"I'll interview him," Peter sighed. "But no guarantees, Lu."

"Thank you, Petey!" I exclaimed, giving him a big hug. Sometimes, like when they were overprotective of me, I would wish they would stop seeing me as their baby sister, but in moments like this, I was glad that my dimples and smile could talk them into anything.

* * *

**Caspian's POV**

I was getting stressed. The time Peter had given me to find employment was half gone. I contemplated trying to ask Peter for more time, but from what I knew of him, it didn't seem like that was likely to go well. But I couldn't leave them! They were the reason I chose to come to the Golden Ages. Especially Susan. It seemed impossible that she could grow even more beautiful than when I first saw her, and yet in the Throne Room the sight of how much more beautiful she had grown took my breath away anyways. She was the epitome of beauty. No wonder songs and poems of her beauty survived over a thousand years later.

"Caspian!" a voice called out, sing song.

"Lucy!" I said, faking cheerfulness. The faun next to her frowned at my familiarity, even though Lucy seemed delighted. Nonetheless, I felt it best not to aggravate the faun, whoever he may be. "I mean, your majesty. My apologies."

"Caspian! I told you to say my name!" Lucy said, mocking sternness. I chuckled. She was adorable. "This is Mr. Tumnus."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Tumnus," I said with a bow. The name was familiar. Professor Cornelius had mentioned he was a loyal friend to the Pevensies, Lucy especially. I think he was involved in the story about the White Witch too, but I wasn't entirely sure.

"You too, Caspian," he said with a courteous nod. I was relieved that he used my name, not Telmarine or Human to address me. Perhaps he would be a friend after all.

"Anyways, I came to tell you that I got you an interview for a job," she said.

"Um, an interview?" I asked eagerly. It must be a good position if it required an interview beforehand.

"With…. Peter!" she said, with an exaggerated smile. My face fell. There was almost no chance that _he_ would hire me. And even if he did, I've already seen beforehand how poorly Peter and I worked together. Granted, we pulled it together in the end, but it wasn't easy.

"I…. I … don't know what to say," I said truthfully.

"You can thank me once you get the job working for him," Lucy said with a giggle. "C'mon, he said for you to come to him by and by."

I followed her silently, my mind swirling with questions and fears. When we arrived outside of a room, she turned and surprised me with a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck!"

"Thank you, Lu," I said with a half hearted smile.

She leaned and whispered, "I really hope you get the job!" She turned and left. I knocked at the door.

I was surprised to hear Edmund's voice call, "Who is it?"

"Caspian, your majesty," I called back.

I heard some talking inside which I could make out, then Peter called out, "Enter." I slowly pushed the door open. I bowed and took a moment to take in the scene in front of me. Peter still looked more kingly than when I knew him, but lacked the… magnificence… that he exuded when in his Throne Room. Edmund looked more relaxed than I had ever seen him. He wasn't just some kid in Peter's shadow, but he wasn't as forceful a presence as he was in the Throne Room. He was leaning back in his chair and playing with a dagger in his hand. A wolf was lying lazily by his chair, looking at me suspiciously.

"Edmund entered to speak with me soon after Lucy left," Peter explained. "And since he is here, he will be staying. But Oksa, Aranch, please leave us." He pointed at the wolf as he said Oksa, and then at Edmund when he said Aranch. I was confused by whom Peter was referring to when he pointed at Edmund. Then I noticed a spider crawling down Edmund's arm and involuntarily shivered.

Peter noticed me shivered and frowned. "As Kings of Narnia, we are friends to all Talking Animals, spiders included. We do not take kindly to those who do not accept certain types of talking creatures."

His implication was clear. I inclined my head. "Of course, your majesty. I'll admit it took me by surprise, but I have nothing against spiders or wolves and hope to someday be acquainted with Lord Aranch and Lady Oksa."

Edmund and Peter looked surprised by my words, but happily so. I was relieved that for once I had said the right thing. Peter pointed to a chair and said, "Please pull up a chair and sit."

I was surprised at his politeness. After all, he was never so polite to me when I was a prince. Why was he now so polite when I was just some random person? I nodded and went to get the chair and sit. I tapped my foot against the ground nervously.

"You must understand, we cannot simply hire a foreigner without knowing your background," Peter began. I wondered if "we" meant Edmund and him were considering hiring me together or if Peter was using the royal we.

"Of course, Sire."

"Then tell us," Edmund said, gesturing for me to speak. This wasn't good. I could not tell them I was from the future. But if I forgot my story and they later realized I had lied to them, I could be executed. I decided on telling a version of the truth.

"I…. my father died when I was but a young boy. My aunt and uncle begrudgingly took me in. I could tell they did not want me around, so I eventually left to seek my fortune elsewhere."

"Why Narnia? Did you try other countries first? I ask this because most humans prefer not to consort with Talking Animals, so it is rather unusual to have a human seek employment here."

"I…. I had a nurse who would tell me stories about Narnia. And when she left, I had a professor who gave me lessons about this country. I..I've always wanted to meet Narnians. This is the first place I came to," I said, rather proud that almost nothing I said was a lie.

"So you would not feel uncomfortable around creatures that are not humans?" Peter asked sternly. I almost wanted to laugh, after having spent so much time living with Talking Animals, but I couldn't tell him that.

"No, your majesty. In fact, when I was little I used to talk to animals I met in hope that there may be some Talking Animals there. It is rather exciting to finally meet actual Talking Animals, even if they despise me for being human," I said earnestly. Peter looked pleased with what I was saying. I was relieved that it seemed that I was finally saying the right things. For once.

"Ed? You're usually the best judge of character? What do you think?" Peter said, addressing his brother. I turned and noticed Edmund looked a bit unsure.

"There is but one question yet to ask, which will decide what we think of you. Be wary, Caspian, for we will absolutely know if you are lying about this," he said.

"Of course, your majesty," I said. I got a bit nervous about what the question might be. Edmund looked so serious. And it was very possible I may have no choice but to lie depending on what he asked.


	4. Two Queens

**Lucy's POV **

I was going insane from all my work! I simply had to take a break. I went out to the gardens where a few of my friends were playing an Archenland game involving hoops and sticks.

"Lucy! Lucy!" the fawn Alyss, one of my dearest friends, called. "Who's the new boy we've been seeing around? With the dark hair, cute accent, looks like he's about Edmund's age."

"His name's Caspian. He's trying to find a job here at Cair Paravel," I explained.

"He's gorgeous," one of the dryads said dreamily.

"Well, I suppose he is a bit good looking," I said.

"You're blushing!" Alyss said in delight. "You like him!"

"Do not!" I said, feeling my face turn red. "I mean, yeah as a friend, not like, _like_ him."

"Do too! Do too!" a handful of my friends said.

"He's nice… and decent looking… I guess… but I'm not interested in him like that!" I protested.

* * *

**Edmund's POV**

I liked this boy well enough, for a Telmarine that is. And he seemed to be rather okay with the idea of Talking Animals. Although I felt like there was something strange going on. Like he was leaving out some important detail. But I couldn't put my finger on it. But there was still one possible problem which I could ask about: Aslan. He probably has never heard of Aslan, so I'm okay with that, but he had to be open to the idea of him and be able to accept him as the true king.

I leaned forward, and simply said his name: "Aslan."

To my and Peter's surprise, he nodded and said, "What about him?"

"So you know about him?" Peter asked, startled.

"Like I said, my nurse and professor told me stories," he said.

"They know quite a lot about us then," I said, a bit disturbed by how detailed the stories these unknown foreigners were telling were.

"Ah… I think my professor might be part dwarf," he said. Peter looked at me, unsure of what to do.

I leaned towards my brother and whispered, "It's possible. Many who were against the Witch's rule left Narnia for freedom and safety."

"So what do you think of Aslan? Do you believe in him and his goodness?" Peter asked the Telmarine.

"Absolutely. With all my heart," Caspian said passionately. No one would speak that fervently unless they were a Narnian or….

"Have you met him?" I asked.

The boy looked hesitant to answer. Peter shifted to lean in, waiting expectantly for an answer. Caspian slowly nodded. "Yes, sire. He helped me on my way here."

"Indeed? Then why did you not say so earlier?!" Peter exclaimed eagerly, halfway out of his chair.

"I did not think you would believe me," Caspian said hesitantly.

"We would know if you had lied to us about Aslan," I said. "But no matter now. Did he give you any sort of instruction or advice? Any warnings about danger to come?"

He shook his head no. "I believe the reason he sent me was an answer to my prayers, not for a particular purpose."

"Nay, for nothing Aslan does is without a purpose," I said. "What were your prayers?"

He looked startled by the question. I leaned forward and said, "We are sorry to intrude on something so private, but we must know."

"Yes, sire. They were merely that I could learn to live the way of a Narnian. I never fit in with my people the way I should have. The stories I heard of Narnia, they felt right. Like I would finally find a place to call home there," he said, growing more and more passionate by the moment. "And Cair Paravel is at the heart of Narnia, and I want very much to stay here."

"Caspian, is there anything else you wish to tell us about before we make our decision? Especially anything that may cause problems later on?" Peter asked. I narrowed my eyes. He must have noticed the same strange vibe I had gotten earlier in the interview.

"No, sire."

"I would like to confer with my brother before making my decision. Caspian, please step outside for a moment," Peter instructed. Caspian looked worried, but silently bowed and left.

"So, brother, what did you want to talk about? You worried about him?" I said, leaning back in my chair lazily, now that it was just the two of us.

"Not sure. He seemed sincere about wanting to be in Narnia and believing in Aslan, but…"

"But?" I pressed, guessing at what he was saying.

"Did something just feel… I dunno… off?" Peter asked.

I nodded. "I'm not sure what though. Like you said, his love of Narnia and Aslan seemed sincere, but there was something… strange. I thought perhaps there was some secret he was not telling us."

"We could try asking him, but he would most likely deny that he is hiding anything," Peter mused, rubbing his chin. "But I don't sense any danger from him."

"Neither do I, but that doesn't mean there isn't. And any danger doesn't necessarily come from him. It may be he has fled from some danger, or has some secret that he is ashamed of."

"But if he doesn't tell us, we have no clue if his secret puts Cair Paravel at risk or not," Peter said with a frown. "But then again, he may be completely innocent, and the secret is nothing we need to be bothered with. Ed? What do you think?"

"It's your decision," I said with a shrug. "I'm not the one interested in hiring him."

"Neither am I. Lucy put me up to it," Peter groaned.

"Well, then you'll just have to or Lu will hate you forever," I joked. "Seriously, though. It's entirely your decision. I told you what I thought of the interview, now it's up to you."

"Alright," Peter said, making up his mind. He crossed to the door and opened it. "Caspian, come in."

* * *

**Caspian's POV**

I began pacing back and forth outside in the hallway. I was starting to think I might have a decent chance at this after all. It seemed to go fairly well. But what was it Peter felt he needed to talk over with Edmund?

"And who is this?" a booming voice asked. I looked up and saw a stranger. A human. And on his arm was Susan, breathtakingly beautiful. My blood started boiling up at the idea of Susan being with another. I should've known. The legends all talk about how the rulers of many other countries fought for her hand. But she rebuffed all of them right? So maybe when she was between suitors I would have my chance with her.

"You, you're the boy who was on trial the other day, are you not?" Susan asked, removing her arm from the man's. I felt my heart get slightly lighter as she pulled away from him to direct her attentions to me.

"Yes, your majesty," I said.

"On trial? For what?" the man said, narrowing his eyes at me as though I was a threat and moving his hand to his sword.

"Oh, calm down, Donovan. It was nothing. Let us be on our way," Susan said with wave of her hand. She pulled the man, who was still eying me with suspicion along with her. But I didn't want her to just leave.

"Wait, Susan!" I called. She and the man both turned around incredulously.

"Excuse me?" Susan said, sounding displeased. I quickly racked my brain, and then realized that I had slipped into acting as though we were friends and forgot to say her title.

"My apologies, your majesty," I said, bowing low.

"That's more like it," Donovan growled. His hand twitched towards his sword. "Queen Susan, would you like me to make sure this _boy_ has learned his lesson?"

"Donovan! Absolutely not! But we should go along our way. Avaline is waiting for us," Susan said, tugging him along with her. I watched longingly as they left. Susan didn't even look back at me once. I leaned against the wall and let my body drop a little. I had hoped that returning would give me a chance to spend some time with her. But she hardly paid attention to me. And I managed to insult her, although thankfully she was much calmer about it than Peter had been that first night. Although it looks like Peter's moved on from my accidentally pushing him, so maybe Susan'll get over my insult quickly and then I'll have a chance with her again. After all, if she was interested in me earlier – or later seeing as that is now the future – then it's likely she'll like me now. Right?

I heard the door open and Peter was standing there. I tried to read his expression, but it was rather impassive. He simply said, "Caspian, come in."


	5. First Day on the Job

**Caspian's POV**

I knelt apprehensively before the two kings, anxiously awaiting their judgment. Peter signaled for me to instead take a seat. "My kings?" I asked, too nervous to wait any longer.

"I hope you understand why we are a bit hesitant about you," Peter began.

My face flushed as I bowed my head and said bitterly, "Of course, your majesty." This sounded very much like a rejection, but I could not thing of anything left unsaid that could change their minds.

"But we have decided to give you a chance to prove yourself. I will hire you as my personal servant, but on probation. The first sign of trouble, you will be asked to leave," Peter said sternly. My heart soared. I was going to be able to stay at Cair Paravel! Unfortunately it was only as a lowly servant, but being by Peter's side would certainly help me learn about being a king… and give me time to spend with Queen Susan.

"Thank you, your majesty! You won't regret it, I swear," I exclaimed. Edmund looked like he was trying to hide amusement at my excitement.

"I'll send word to Susan to have the staff prepare a room for you, as you will be living here. In addition to us providing a living space and food, your wages will be 5 Lions each fortnight. Any questions?"

"When can I begin?"

"Straightaway," Peter said, sounding pleased by my words. "Tonight at dinner, you will have to take an oath of loyalty to Narnia. Before that though, Lucy offered to show you around the castle if you got the job, so once she's available, she'll be showing you around. For now, do you know where the armory is?"

"I think so…" I said.

"Fantastic. You can start polishing my armor until Lucy sends someone to fetch you. You do know how to do that, right?" he said absentmindedly, waving his hand in dismissal. He was already looking busily at some report or another on his desk, Edmund leaning in to look over his shoulder. I swallowed hard. How was I supposed to learn how to be a king if Peter gave me such basic, lowly jobs and commanded me away from him? It seemed I was not to be trusted with anything important. How I wish I could tell them my true identity. Or about how I helped save the Narnians. Perhaps then I could at least get a bit of respect. But I can't defy Aslan, even if there was a chance they'd believe my claim to be from the future.

"That was a dismissal, Caspian," Edmund said sternly, an eyebrow raised. I realized I had been lingering far too long. I clenched my teeth and bowed my way out. I could hear them beginning to talk about whatever the papers they were looking over were about, already forgetting about me. After all, I didn't matter to them, just some servant they took on as a charity case because I couldn't find any other work here. I found my way down to the armory. A dwarf was in front of armory and gave me a suspicious look as I walked up. I recognized him from some of my attempts to find work.

"You again. You're not back to beg for work _again_, are you?" he said exasperatedly. I racked my brain, trying to remember his name. Thorn-… thorn- something. I guess I'll just use sir and hope he's not some higher rank.

"No sir. The High King has hired me and my first assignment is to polish his armor," I said, gritting my teeth. The dwarf looked displeased with my answer, but after dealing with Nikabrik and Trumpkin, I wasn't sure if he was really displeased or if it was normal dwarf grumpiness. Thankfully, he let me in without any further trouble.

"The High King's things are over there. You'll find everything you need for polishing over there. You do know how to polish, right?" he said grumpily. I nodded. Thankfully, my swordmaster had thought it important that I learn every aspect of swordfighting, including how to polish, so I did know. And Narnian armor was similar enough to Telmarine armor. I sat down on a bench and began polishing angrily. If Aslan was here, I would ask him to bring me back to my own time. This wasn't worth it. I was learning nothing, spending almost no time with them, and Susan barely looked at me. But as usual, Aslan only acts in his own, generally rather inconvenient time. I supposed I shouldn't have thought that. Most likely he didn't act earlier in the battle because we lost faith, but still. If he had only acted sooner many Narnian lives would have been saved.

After about an hour of mindless, tedious work, a naiad came for me. I stood in case she was someone important and found myself staring at her. I had gotten used to other Narnian creatures by now, but since the rivers and trees were asleep, I had yet to meet a naiad.

"Are you Caspian?" she said, twisting her watery hair and smiling at me.

"Yes… milady," I said, unsure how to address her. None of the Narnian I had met in my own time had titles, but they lived in exile in the woods, not in a castle, so who knew what titles and protocol I had to deal with now. Thankfully, the naiad just smiled.

"I'm Dalia, one of Queen Lucy's ladies-in-waiting. She sent me to fetch you," she said, extending a hand. I took it, kissing her hand. She giggled and played with her hair some more. She led me to one of Lucy's rooms, where she was talking to that faun again.

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

Mr. Tumnus and I were trying to piece together past Narnian history that the White Witch had destroyed. While the outcome of our work certainly would be interesting, the actual work is much more dull that I thought it would be when I told Susan we would work on it. I finally gave up for the day and sent one of my ladies-in-waiting to fetch Caspian. She returned, a giggly mess. I could hardly blame her though. Caspian had this delightful

"Caspian!" I exclaimed cheerfully, jumping to my feet. He grinned and bowed in an overly dramatic way, making me giggle. I walked over and took his strong hands into my own. "I've been looking forward to this ever since Peter told me he had hired you. Touring the castle is _so_ much more interesting than all this boring work Mr. Tumnus and I have been working on."

"I looked forward to it as well," he said with a smile. He was rather quiet as I showed him around the castle. Surprisingly, he did not react to the assortment of Talking Animals and other creatures which I stopped to talk to and treated them respectfully. It was almost as if he was already used to them, which is unusual who had been her for such a short amount of time.

"Susan! Guess what? Peter hired Caspian and I'm showing him around," I said cheerfully when we passed my sister. He suddenly straightened up and gaped at her. I bit my lip. Of course she would catch his interest. It's always her that catches all the men.

"That's nice to know," Susan said, a bit coldly. I frowned, wondering what Caspian had done to earn her disdain so quickly. He hadn't tried making advances to her already? If so, Peter would be furious when he found out!

"Your majesty," he said, genuflecting before her. Unlike the exaggerated bow he gave me, it seemed like he wasn't trying for humor here, but was rather worried about appeasing her after whatever it was that made her dislike him

"Caspian," she said, acknowledging Caspian with a small nod and gesturing for him to rise. She quickly turned her attention back to me. "Lucy, be sure to be finished with this before court tonight. We're going to have a tight schedule, so please don't be late."

"Oh! Right!" I exclaimed. I had almost forgotten. "Well, let's hurry along then. I still have a lot to show you, Cas."

"Caspian, when Lucy's done showing you around, return to Peter and make sure he'd ready for court and dinner afterwards in time. And make sure he dresses nicely, no matter how much he might whine about it. Ask Sergus if you have any questions," she instructed.

I leaned towards Caspian and mock-whispered, "And he _will _whine and complain. A lot."

Susan rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was amused by my comment. "Well, I shall see you both later."

Caspian turned to me after she left, "Sergus?"

"Sergus is a faun who often helps Peter dress and such since Peter's previously refused having a personal servant."

"Really?" he said in surprise.

"Yeah. He'll go through the motions and interview potential candidates and such, but always says he's not interested. Personally, I think he just hates the idea of relying on someone. He always wants to do everything by himself when he can."

Caspian nodded thoughtfully. I wondered how he had managed to come to that conclusion so fast.

"But… he agreed to hire me…"

"He can't resist giving me what I want," I smirked. It seriously was a good thing I had scruples, otherwise this could have been disastrous for Narnia. "And…I think he felt guilty about overreacting and throwing you in prison."

"Everyone else seems to think he went easy on me," Caspian commented. I studied his face. It was mostly impassive, but his eyes betrayed him. I could tell he had probably faced a lot of racism against him this past week.

"None of the four of us think so," I said as gently as I could, placing my hand on his shoulder. He reached for it and took it into his. I felt my heart pound faster, wondering what he was going to do.

"I still don't think your brothers trust me," he commented bitterly. I pulled my hand from his, for some reason annoyed that he would bring up my brothers.

"They have to. I wish we could just trust everyone, but they're right when they tell me I need to stop thinking that everyone has good intentions. But I definitely think you can be trusted, even if they don't," I responded.

"And… do you think your brother is going to dislike having me as a servant? Since he only did it for you and from guilt?" he asked nervously.

" Well…. I also think he's a bit lonely," I said, lowering my voice. Hopefully anyone who might be nearby would understand that I meant for this to not reach Peter's ears.

"Lonely?"

"As High King, it's really hard for him to make friends rather than just subjects," I explained. Caspian nodded as though he understood, which made absolutely no sense. It's possible he had some sort of title back in Telmar, but then why would he not tell us that so we would have to give him a proper greeting as nobility rather than working for Peter? I frowned and continued. "He has us, but sometimes people need friends who aren't family. Susan and I both have our ladies-in-waiting who are our good friends. Edmund has Phillip, but Peter doesn't really have a close friend."

"Who's Phillip? Edmund's servant?"

"No, Phillip's a horse. Even though Talking Horses are not to be ridden in anything less than battle or other extreme situations, the two of the have such a connection that they feel comfortable riding together anytime."

"I see… And you think I could help Pe-the High King not be so lonely?" he asked quizzically.

"Well… I figured if you're always going to be around him, you could be his friend! You'll do that, will you? Please?" I asked eagerly. He seemed a bit amused by my eagerness, but he nodded.

"I'll try my best. But I fear he will only think of me as a servant. After he hired me, he barely paid attention to me," he said.

"He was probably busy. He's always busy. But you'll be spending plenty of time with him. And maybe you can help remind him sometimes to take a break and relax," I said with a giggle. "But you should head back to him now to help him get ready for tonight."

When we reached the hallway by Peter's office, I paused. "Well, goodbye."

"Goodbye," he said, taking my hand a kissing it. I wrapped my fingers around his to pull him in and gave him a hug. He hugged me back after a second's hesitation.

* * *

**Peter's POV**

I was annoyed when my new servant came back and told me that Susan had instructed him to have me begin preparing for court and dinner tonight. I suppose though that dressing me would be one of his jobs. But he really seemed unsure what to do. Sergus had to come in and show him. Seriously, how hard could it be to dress someone? I was already starting to regret hiring him without first checking that he could do basic tasks. Hopefully he didn't manage to somehow damage my armor when polishing it. After I was dressed an such, I instructed Caspian to help me pack my notes and such that I was going to bring to court with me.

"Why does it matter that minotaurs are in the village?" he asked, picking up a paper of other notes.

I scowled, but it was lost on him as he was still looking at the report. "I did not ask you to look through that stack of papers. And I don't have the time to explain what minotaurs are to you."

"I know what minotaurs are," he said, sounding offended. I raised an eyebrow. It was getting worrisome, how informed this Telmarine was about Narnians. If the Telmarine lords and king were also this informed, then we would have no advantage of surprise if war should occur.

"Then you would understand how dangerous they are, and therefore shouldn't be anywhere near civilization," I said curtly.

"Not all of them are bad," he protested. I turned to him slowly and stalked over. I slapped my hand down on the report so that he would stop staring at it and pay attention to me.

"Y… your majesty?" he asked nervously, backing up a bit.

"What exactly do you know about minotaurs? Why do you care so much that you defend them?" I asked suspiciously. He stammered a bit while backing up some more, accidentally knocking over a pile of books.

"Sire… I – It's – I just… I just don't think…. Not all are bad- your majesty–"

I narrowed my eyes and grabbed him by the collar, forcing him to face me as I accused him of treachery so that I could gauge his reaction. "Have you been consorting with our enemies, former allies of the White Witch?!"


	6. A Mischievous Prince

**Caspian's POV**

And again Peter has thrown me in the dungeons. Even longer this time it seems. I've already been in here for about two days or so. It's hard to tell. It's just so unfair! I suppose I did speak out of turn, criticizing his policies about minotaurs, but why must he be so closed minded? All I could think of was the minotaur who gave up his life so us Narnians could escape Miraz' castle. I know for certain that minotaurs must not be evil! But in retrospect, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. After all, when I first saw him, he was about to attack the minotaur. And Trufflehunter had to explain that a "common enemy unites even the oldest of foes." I suppose the minotaurs in the Golden Ages were always the enemy. But I just knew that if they really tried, they could certainly coexist at the very least.

"Caspian?" a soft voice asked.

"Who is it?" I asked warily, slowly standing up.

"Oh, goody. You're awake," Lucy said, bouncing into view. "I've talked to Peter, and he's willing to give you a second chance!"

"Really?" I said, running up to the bars of the cell. Lucy ran straight up to my cell door as well and pulled out a key.

"Yep! I mean… I kinda made a deal with him… so it's not exactly a guarantee… he's going to give you a task, and if you complete it successfully, then you can have your job back," she said slowly, swaying side to side a bit.

"Alright," I said hesitantly. "Thank you. What is the task?"

"Not sure," she said, pouting a little. "Not sure if he's decided yet. But I'm pretty sure it's going to be something hard. But I'll help you!"

"Really, you would do that for me?" I asked. I was liking the youngest queen more every day, even though my heart still belonged to Susan of course. Lucy was just so pleasant, so helpful, so cheery. She hadn't been quite this way during my time… but then again, she was upset over our disbelief in the Great Lion.

"Sure! So, ready to go to Peter?" she said with a grin, pulling a key from somewhere in her pocket.

"I suppose…"

Lucy quickly opened the dungeon door and enveloped me in a warm hug. I chuckled. She was just so loving sometimes.

"You're the best ever, Lu," I said, pinching her cheek. She giggled.

"Come, come. We don't want to make Peter wait," she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along after her as she skipped through the dungeons. I suddenly felt uncomfortable. What if someone saw us and got the wrong idea from us holding hands? Especially if Susan found out and then lost any possible interest in me… I quickly tried to tug my hand out of hers. She looked back, seeming a bit hurt, but I covered it by pretending my shoes needed lacing. Thankfully she then suddenly smiled again, flipped her hair over her shoulder and continued on. "Hurry up, slowpoke!"

"Coming, your majesty," I said with an exaggerated bow, making her laugh. I was relieved that whatever annoyance she had at my pulling away from her seemed to be gone so quick. I couldn't afford to lose the only person who seemed to be my friend right now.

"Peter! Peter! PeterPeterPeter!" Lucy said singsong, knocking on his door.

"Come in!" he called back.

"I brought Caspian!" she said, smiling a bit too much. I skulked into the room and lingered by the door. Peter looked annoyed that I was there. This couldn't be good. "So, Pete, have you figured out what task you're going to give him?"

"Yes, I have," Peter said. I could tell immediately from his smug tone that I probably wouldn't like it. "Lu, have you read the mail today yet?"

Lucy looked confused, but accepted the letter Peter handed to her and glanced down at it. "Oh how delightful! I've been hoping Archenland would visit again soon."

"Sire, what does this have to do with me?" I asked.

"So impatient," Peter said disapprovingly, tapping his desk.

I bit my lip and bowed slightly. "My apologies, your majesty." Seriously? Did Peter have to scold me for every little thing? This was ridiculous. But he was the High King, so he could get away with it.

"But what _does_ it have to do with him?" Lucy asked, sitting on the edge of Peter's desk. Of course _she_ he didn't scold for being impatient. Just me.

"Prince Corin of Archenland will be traveling with them. And King Lune asked that we assign a servant to him specifically to keep him out of trouble. Caspian, if Corin doesn't get into even the littlest bit of trouble throughout the fortnight, then I will let you have your job back," Peter said. I thought this sounded like a fairly easy, until I saw Lucy's face.

"But that's impossible!" she protested. I tried to remember any mention of a Prince Corin in myths my Nurse and Professor taught me, but they hadn't told me much about Archenland. I think there was something about him and boxing? How bad could it be?

"Not completely," Peter said lazily. Lucy pouted and he continued sarcastically, "And since Caspian seems to think he knows more than us, maybe he knows how to keep Corin out of trouble."

"No one knows that! It's impossible," Lucy complained. "You're doing this to him on purpose."

"Lu, he's lucky I'm even giving him this chance. Or a job in the first place," Peter said dismissively. I shuffled uncomfortably. I'm right here! No need to talk of me as if I'm not!

"But Peter!"

"Enough Lu!" he said, his patience with her seeming to have ended. He still didn't seem genuinely angry at her though, as he would have been at me much earlier in the conversation. "It's this or he can stay in the dungeons until we officially dismiss him and send him away. And Lu, don't you have visits you were suppose to make today. You should start on that before it ges to dark."

"Yes, Peter," Lucy said dutifully. She gave her brother a kiss on the cheek and the two of them hugged, any argument between them easily forgotten. She skipped off, leaving me alone with Peter, who quickly scowled at me the moment Lucy could no longer see him. I swallowed and looked away. If I was still a prince, I would have met his scowl with one of my own, but I was quickly seeing how precarious my position here was as a complete outsider.

"Your majesty?" I asked tentatively.

"What?" Peter asked brusquely.

"What should I do for now?"

Peter looked at me appraisingly. "I suppose you can temporarily have your job back. _Temporarily._ I have some clothes over there that need to be washed."

I was sure whether to be annoyed over having such a base assignment to do as washing clothes or to be relieved that at least his allowing me to be around him means he doesn't hate me too much.

"Yes, Sire," I said monotone, bowing and walking over to start on it.

* * *

**Susan's POV**

"Caspian, is that you?" I said walking over to the boy. "What are you doing out of the dungeons?"

"Oh! You-your majesty," he stammered, dropping the basket of food he was carrying. He blushed in embarrassment and bowed low.

"You haven't answered my question," I prodded.

"I- Lucy – I mean Queen Lucy – um, her majesty let me out two days ago," he fumbled.

I frowned. "Does Peter know?"

"Yeah- yes, your majesty. It was his orders. He- he's given me a second chance if I keep Cor-Prince Corin out of trouble," he said, still in a low bow. "And he's having me work as his servant still in the meantime."

"I wasn't informed. Well, continue then with your work," I said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" he called. I turned around, a bit annoyed. This wasn't the first time he told me to wait when I turned to leave. Who did he think he was? But I indulged him and lingered a moment.

"Yes?"

"Um… ah… do you believe me?" he said nervously.

"Is there reason I should I not?" I asked sharply.

"I… ah… I just wanted to be sure," he said, fidgeting with the edges of his shirt. I suddenly realized what was actually going on and sighed. Just what I needed. Yet another boy in love with me. Just what I needed. Did he not realize that I had already turned down lords, princes, kings even? And he was too young for me even if he was of an appropriate rank for me to be able to show interest.

"Yes, yes. Now go," I said, a bit rudely to make my point. His eyes widened at my tone and he rushed to grab his basket and move on. I sighed. I really didn't like having to always turn people down. I know Lucy sometimes get a bit jealous of all the attention I get, but I'd rather have the freedom that she has. To not worry that any kindness she shows will be construed as flirting. To not worry that saying yes to a dance means leading on a man. To get close to boys without having friendships destroyed by feelings.

"Susan! There you are!" Lucy said cheerfully, running up to me.

"Lu! Where you looking for me?" I said, quickly smoothing out my face so she would see how annoyed I was and ask.

"Yes, yes! Um… can we talk more privately?" she whispered.

"Sure, of course," I said, linking her arm in mine and heading to a nearby room which was empty other than a badger trying to clean. "Luffiweather, please leave us for a few minutes."

"Of course, your majesties," the badger said, scurrying out.

"Now, what is it, Lu?"

"You're good at getting boys interested in you," she began shyly. I raised an eyebrow. This was knew.

"Generally not intentionally," I said.

"Yeah, well… there's this guy… I think he might like me. And I think I like him too! A lot actually. He's just so nice, and funny too, even though it doesn't seem like it. He only jokes around with me really. But I don't think he realizes that I like him. And I want him to know that if I'm right and he is interested in me, then he can go ahead and court me! But if he doesn't like me, I don't want to embarrass myself by flirting _too_ obviously. Since you always managed to get guys interested without really flirting so I thought you would be a good person to go to," she babbled.

"Wow! I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much about a guy," I said, laughing. "He must be a really great guy if you're talking that much about him. Is it one of those dryad boys I've seen you hang out with?"

"No, he's human," Lucy said. I frowned. There weren't many humans around other than visitors. And right now we only had a few human visitors, only two of which were male. I didn't approve of either of them for my little sister.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Caspian."

* * *

**Caspian's POV**

I was growing impatient and bored. Peter had sent some of us outside to be ready to greet Archenland as soon as they arrived. We had been standing out here for hours, at first just in case they came early and now because they were late. Is it really that important to have people here the exact moment they arrive? Of course Peter and the others couldn't be bothered to wait out here for hours.

"I think that's them," Mr. Tumnus suddenly said. "Swallowpad, fly over and see if you can make out the banner."

When Swallowpad can back he confirmed it was them and Mr. Tumnus rushed inside to find the Pevensies.

"King Lune!" Peter greeted as he and his siblings behind him walked out of Cair Paravels doors, perfectly timed to the Archenlanders' arrival.

"High King Peter! It's been too long," Lune said with a chuckle.

"But where's dear Corin?" Susan asked after also greeting him.

"He's right here…what! Where is that scallawag?" Lune said, looking around. Suddenly we heard a ruckus from one of the carriages. There was a boy and two very, very angry non-talking horses there.

"Corin! Get over here. Jonah, deal with the horses," he instructed, shaking his head. "My apologies for the disturbance, your majesties."

"Oh, it wouldn't be the same if Corin didn't cause at least one disturbance," Susan said with a gentle laugh which Lune joined in heartily.

"Yes, that's my boy," he chuckled. He then grew serious and said, "Corin, apologize."

"I'm very sorry about what I did and promise I will not do so again," the boy said monotone, as if he said it often. From what I had been hearing about him and the scene I just saw, I figured out it must happen fairly often.

"No harm done," Peter said. "King Lune, we selected a servant for Prince Corin as you requested. Caspian!" Peter motioned for me to join him as he called for me. I had to restrain from rolling my eyes at the redundancy. I was literally about a foot away. But I couldn't afford to offend anyone. I bowed to King Lune.

"Excellent, excellent. My apologies in advance for his mischief," King Lune said with a chuckle, pushing the prince forward.

"Caspian, show Prince Corin to his room," Peter instructed. I bowed and lead Corin out, hearing Peter giving other instructions to the other servants about who was to show whom to their respective rooms and such.

"You're human," Corin said.

"Yes, your highness," I said.

"I'm Corin!" he said. I couldn't resist smiling a little.

"In that case, yes, Corin," I said teasingly.

"And you're Cas… Casper?"

"Caspian."

"Caspian! It's nice to meet you. Ooh, can I slide down this railing? It looks like such fun!"

"Um, that probably would get me in trouble," I said.

"But you don't have to do it. Just me," Corin said.

"But I'm supposed to be keeping you out of trouble," I explained. "So I'd get in trouble too."

"Oh. Well, I guess I don't want to get you in trouble You seem nice. Do you want to go boxing? I'm a really good boxer. Peridan says I'm the best he's ever seen," the boy babbled.

"I'm sure you are, but I'd probably get in trouble for that too," I said exasperatedly. We hadn't even gotten to his room and I was already having to stop him from getting in trouble.

"Alright! Ooh! What's this?" he said running ahead.

"Corin!" I yelled. He started looking at some statue and when I shouted his name, turned around fast, a foot flying out and hitting a statue. The statue fell and knocked down about three others, one of them breaking in half. I began panicking. How was I going to get out of this? Well, Corin probably didn't want to get in trouble… maybe if I just ignore it they won't know it was Corin.

"What in the world- Caspian! You're supposed to be controlling him!" Susan said. I gulped. Apparently she had seen the whole thing. And I didn't hold out to much hope of her keeping this from her brother.


	7. Escorting the Queen

**So I've gotten some questions in reviews and messages about whether this is going to end as a Suspian or Lucian... well, that depends on you! I am leaning slightly one way (not telling which!) but have ideas about how to end it for either way, so I can easily be persuaded if you readers prefer a particular ending. :)**

**Lucy's POV**

"Susan!" I called, running up the stairs to where I could see her scolding a red-faced Caspian. "Lady …Ermillian, I think it was? One of the Archenland ladies who came with King Lune. She says she has an emergency and must see you immediately. Or what she actually said was she needed to see the Queen of Narnia. She said it to my face! And when I pointed out that I was a queen, she just acted like she was talking to an infant and said, 'your sister, little dear.' "

"Why of all impertinence! I'll go deal with her," Susan said with a frown.

As soon as she left, I ran up to Caspian. "Now she has someone other than you to be angry with."

He chuckled and played with my hair a little. I felt a thrill down my spine. "Thanks, Lu. You're a lifesaver. Again."

"Well… maybe you can repay the favor this time," I said, inching towards him a little.

"Oh?" he asked.

"I can help you!" Corin declared, striking a knightly pose. He looked so adorable that both Caspian and I couldn't resist laughing.

"To celebrate the Archenlander's arrival, there's a small ball tonight," I began.

"Ew, forget it. I'm out," Corin said, making us laugh again.

"And I have yet to find someone to escort me. If only some dashing boy would ask me out," I said, flirting a little as I had seen Susan do with suitors she was interested in.

"You want me to help set you up with someone?" he asked. I felt my heart drop a little. Were all boys this dense?

"No," I said a bit bitterly.

"Wait, are you asking me… to…" he trailed off.

"Never mind," I muttered.

"Lu, I would love to – "

"Ew!" Corin interjected.

"But I'm not allowed to go," Caspian finished. "Corin's not going."

"Thank Aslan!" Corin said dramatically.

"And I have to stay with him."

"I can arrange for someone else to watch him. I'm sure Mr. Tumnus wouldn't mind," I offered. Mr. Tumnus already figured out that I was fond of Caspian and had encouraged me to get him to escort me, so he'd probably be alright with missing the ball. He had spent time with Corin before as well and was one of the few who seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time with the rambunctious prince.

"I like spending time with Mr. Tumnus," Corin declared.

"The High King will notice and be displeased. And I can't afford to anger him when my job is on the line," Caspian said. I noticed a bit of longing in his voice and hoped that meant he was genuinely just worried about Peter and not that he wanted to get out of going with me.

"I'll worry about Peter. If I tell him you're the only man interested in going with me, he'll capitulate," I said with a wink.

"Well, then I look forward to escorting my beautiful queen," he said smoothly.

I blushed without meaning it. Before thinking, I blurted out, "Really? You think I'm beautiful?" Usually men only said such things to my sister. No one thinks that a girl who "fights like a man" as they say is beautiful.

"I guess so," he said, suddenly bashful. He quickly turned to the little prince and said, "Corin, we better get you to your room soon."

* * *

**Caspian's POV **

I didn't know what to make of what happened. Lucy was always coming to my defense and now was inviting me to a ball. I had to admit though, I was eager to go. To be treated like a noble rather than a servant. I had never really appreciated all the work servants do before now. This ball would be doubly rewarding because now I knew and was a part of all the work preparing for days before.

I also didn't understand why me calling her beautiful was such a big deal to her. She was a queen. Weren't there men calling her beautiful and complimenting her all the time. Then my mind drifted back to insult the Archenland lady made to Lucy. Maybe as the younger queen she was ignored. My blood started boiling at that thought. She was just as much a queen as Susan! But then the stories do say that she rode out to war and fought like a man. I had thought that this was incorrect information based on my experience where Susan fought and Lucy stayed behind or searched for Aslan, but they seemed different here that maybe this was accurate. Poor Lucy. Any man who didn't realize that she was a gem was a fool.

"Caspian? Can I go exploring?" Corin asked me for the millionth time.

"No, Corin. Remember what I told you?"

"If I get in trouble, you're going to get into really, really big trouble. I don't want that, but this is boring!" he moaned. "Can't we at least play at adventuring?"

"Um, sure," I said. I had done such things when I was a child with my toys, but I had no idea how such things work with two people. I never had friends to play with. We started playing at being knights fighting a vicious dragon. I idly wondered if dragons might be real. I certainly hadn't met any yet.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knocking at the door. I opened it to see a rather annoyed looking Peter there, accompanied by a badger. I gulped and said, "Yes, your majesty?"

"Come outside and close the door," he instructed. This only made me more nervous, wondering what he had to say that he didn't want Corin overhearing. I waited for him to speak. "Lucy says you are to take her to the ball."

"Sire, I –"

"It's fine. Who she goes with is her decision. And Susan'll be furious with me if I tried to interfere since she seemed to approve of that very much," he said. "I can't really face both of them at once."

I inwardly chuckled at this. The High King being overpowered by two girls? I mean, they were queens and definitely defied the traditional ideas of women, but it was still funny to picture. But I was confused why Susan seemed so pleased that I was going with Lucy. My heart jumped a little though. Maybe she wanted me around after all?

"So why are you here?" I asked anxiously, waiting for whatever threat or such that was sure to come.

"You'll need a change of outfit if you are escorting my sister," he pointed out, scrutinizing my servant's garb that that I was wearing. I flushed a bit. He did realize that only servant outfits had been provided for me? And I had been working almost constantly or in prison. Even if I had wanted to purchase a better outfit, I hadn't the time thanks to his endless work for me to do. He surprised me by saying, "You're just a bit smaller than me. I have some old outfits which you can try out. Featherpuffle will watch Prince Corin in your absence."

I nodded dumfounded, not understanding why he was suddenly being nice to me. More than just nice. I know I would have never let a servant wear my outfits back in my own time. It just wasn't done. Wasn't proper at all. I followed him silently to his chambers. "Here, try any of these," he said, pulling out various outfits. They weren't the fancy attire I would have worn to a Telmarine ball, but were all certainly meant for royalty, at the very least nobility. I tried one on and was surprised by how comfortable they were. I eventually found an outfit I particularly liked. I stepped out from behind the curtain and Peter looked me up and down. "That'll do nicely."

"King Peter, why are you being so nice to me?" I asked hesitantly.

"What?" he said. "All I've done is give you clothes. And this doesn't mean that you won't still get fired if there's trouble later."

I shook my head. It was like Peter didn't want to admit to being nice to me for whatever reason. I thought darkly that maybe he didn't want people realizing he was capable of being nice to a mere servant. "When would you like me to return the clothes?"

"Doesn't matter. I don't really wear those clothes anymore," he said, waving it off. "You best go back to Prince Corin now." He was already back to ignoring me and concentrating on his papers again. I sighed and accepted my clear dismissal.

* * *

**Susan's POV**

"Here, he's bound to notice you in this dress," I said as I did some finishing touches on Lucy's hair.

"Why aren't you dressing up? You usually spend a lot more time with dressing up," she pointed out.

"I don't have anyone in particular I want to impress," I said dismissively. In truth, I was worried about stealing Caspian's attention. Tonight would not end well if my sister's escort had trouble keeping his eyes off of me. "But you do, so I'm going to make sure my sister looks beautiful. By the way, I could tell you were just trying to distract me scolding Caspian today."

She blushed. "But there really was an Archenland lady."

"Yes, I know. But she didn't seem to be acting as urgent as you made her out to be," I said, but I winked when saying it so she would know I wasn't really mad. I was a little worried though about the fact that she was almost lying to protect this boy. I had no clue what she could possibly see in him that made him worth that. She giggled. I smiled and said, "Well, I really should also dress for the ball. I'll see you soon."

When we were all ready, we all met with our escorts on the grand staircase outside the main hall. At first when Caspian looked over at us with a slightly stunned expression on his face, I thought my work on Lucy was paying off. I looked again and gritted my teeth. He was most definitely looking at me, not her. Even worse, Peter seemed to notice where Caspian was looking as well and began scowling. At least Lucy hadn't realized it. Yet, that is. I shot him a dirty look, and then he seemed to realize what he was doing and averted his gaze.

When Caspian took Lucy's arm, Peter scowled and said, "I better not hear of anything inappropriate going on."

"Yes, your majesty," Caspian said, sounding annoyed by the question. I think that the tone in Caspian's voice must have annoyed Peter, for he decided to go into specific detail in lecturing Caspian about what he wasn't to do. Thankfully, I was saved by my escort, King Lune, showing up.

* * *

**Caspian's POV**

After dancing with Lucy a few times, a faun cut in and asked to dance with her. I decided to take advantage of this to try to dance with Susan. When I approached her and asked, she looked hesitant and said, "I'm actually feeling rather fatigued. I think I'll sit this one out."

"Would you like me to fetch you a refreshment?" I offered eagerly. She nodded, and I hurried off to the table full of drinks. But when I came back, she was dancing with her brother. I didn't know what to make of that. Perhaps Peter had pressured her into dancing with him despite her being tired? And yet I couldn't help feeling that this was intentional, that she was trying to get away from me. I slowly walked back to the table and returned the refreshment I had grabbed for her. I kept looking back, but not once did she even glance my way! It was so unfair. I know I could have won her interest if she would only give me even a minute's notice.

Her possible rejection didn't really put me in the mood for a ball so I wandered outside. To my surprise, Lucy soon joined me. "Hi! What are you doing out here?"

"I just wanted some fresh air," I lied. For a moment I pondered telling her since she might be able to help me, but then again, I didn't want to come across as whiny.

"Me too!" she commented. "The gardens are lovely tonight, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," I said. Strangely, Lucy looked disappointed by this comment.

We wandered around for quite awhile. Lucy blissfully chatted about her brothers and sister and Mr. Tumnus and all sorts of things about Narnia. I listened carefully, looking for more hints into how to fit into Narnia. I was also rather surprised by some of the things that I found out about her siblings. They protested against them being heroes when they first entered Narnia? That did not fit what I knew about them and was most definitely not in the tales. Suddenly, I heard noise in the gardens. It sounded like a human boy screaming.

"Lucy! Shh!" I whispered, covering her mouth quickly. Her eyes widened, but she quickly complied. I felt her press something into my hand and realized she had given me a dagger. She then reached into her dress and pulled a second one out. I couldn't help grinning. No wonder she was called the Valiant Queen. We slowly tiptoed over to where the noise was. Here was a bush in the way, so I grabbed onto Lucy's waist and hoisted her up. She then helped me climb over. When we got around another bush, we saw Corin struggling against two armed men.

"Corin!" Lucy yelled. We both ran to him and started fighting against them, their swords against our daggers. Corin tried to engage them in boxing, but he was already bleeding badly and crying.

"Lucy! Grab Corin, get him to safety, and get back up!" I yelled. I was relieved when she nodded. I thought she might want to fight, but it seems that Corin's safety was important to her. She grabbed him and forced him to come back to the castle with her. I continued fighting against the two men, but one of me versus two of them was never going to work. After a few well-aimed blows cut into me, I quickly lost blood and fell unconscious.


	8. Mending and Tearing

**Caspian's POV **

I slowly stirred into consciousness. As I began moving, one of the nurses rushed out of the room and called for someone before returning.

"Now, now dearie. No need to get up yet. You've lost quite a lot of blood, you have," the badger said. As my vision cleared, I noticed that this one seemed more feminine than Trufflehunter. A female badger, I assumed. Her voice was also very different, as though she came from part of a country with a different dialect.

"What happened?" I groaned, stretching a bit and taking in my surroundings. I seemed to be in some sort of infirmary, except only a few beds were in there. I was confused, until I realized only humans and maybe a few Narnians like fauns or dryads would use a bed like I was accustomed to.

"You saved Prince Corin's life, you did," she said cheerfully. "King Lune was ever so grateful. Both him and the prince were rather disappointed you didn't wake before they had to leave."

I suddenly grew nervous. Peter wasn't going to hold this against me, was he? Or he might give me some harder task to prove myself…

A rabbit hopped in, shouting, "I found him! Found him! Here he is!"

I slowly turned, trying not to accidently rip any bandages. I started a bit when I realized Peter was striding towards me. I struggled to get it, but before I could he was next me, placing a hand on my shoulder and saying, "No, don't bother getting up."

"Your majesty," I said, my voice hoarse from disuse.

"You've been unconscious well over a week. How are you feeling?" he asked kindly. My breathing slowed back down to normal as I realized he didn't seem to be angry.

"Strangely not in much pain," I said.

"The dryads always grow the best herbs for medicine," Peter explained. "I doubt Telmar has anything nearly as good."

I didn't know for sure, but I highly doubted it. The Telmarines in Narnia sure didn't. "No, sire."

I still was wondering why Peter was here with me. I wanted to ask, but I was also apprehensive about what he might answer. I decided to wait until he addressed the issue.

"I suppose you want to know what happened after you blacked out?" he asked.

"Yes please, sire."

"One of the wolves got there in time to stop them from finishing you off. The rest of the guards that Lucy found got there a few moments after. All of them were put in jail and extradited to Archenland. Turns out they're wanted there for several other crimes as well. They had been hoping to exchanged Prince Corin in exchange for their leader who's imprisoned at Anvard," he explained. While he was speaking, the badger came back to check on me.

"Did the group have anything to do with the stories I heard about Prince Corin having a long-lost twin brother?" I asked.. When no Prince Cor was with the Archenland delegation, I assumed the legend I heard about a Prince Cor living exiled in Calormen before returning to save Archenland had yet to happen. That is, if it even happened at all.

"Dead twin, most likely, but King Lune still holds out hope. Especially since a prophecy says he'll save Archenland," Peter said.

"Well, if there's a prophecy, it'll have to happen, right? So then he must be alive," I pointed out.

Peter gave me a strange look. "I hadn't realized Telmarines believed in prophecies."

He was right. How was I suppose to respond to that? I did, but that was because I was more Narnian than Telmarine. "Some of the very few Telmarines who had an interest in such things knew about the prophecy about you long before your majesties appeared. So I guess I just started believing in prophecies after that."

He seemed satisfied by my answer. "Now, for the real reason I'm here," he said slowly.

"Am I going to be given another chance to prove myself?" I blurted out.

He gave me a strange look. "What do you mean?"

"Since keeping Corin out of trouble for the week was my second chance and I was unconscious for most of it…" I began until he began chuckling.

"You don't seriously think I'm mad at you, do you? You saved Prince Corin's life!" he said.

"Oh."

"Your job here is secure," he assured.

"Really? Thank you, your majesty!" I exclaimed, sitting up a bit before quickly getting dizzy and sitting back down.

"But…" he began.

_Of course there's a but,_ I thought, disappointed again.

"The question is whether you still want this job or the job offer King Lune made that he asked me to pass along to you," he said slowly.

I stared at him for a moment, not comprehending. _I had another job offer? _I had been so worried I wouldn't have any, but now I had to. "Um… what's the offer?"

"He wishes to make you an Archenland knight," Peter said shortly. I didn't understand at first why he seemed so upset about it. I figured he'd want me out of here.

"What?"

Peter got up and began pacing. "He was rather impressed by your adeptness in protecting Corin and the amount of soldiers you were fighting against."

"Um, sire?"

"What?" he said rudely.

"Why do you seem… angry about it?" I asked hesitantly. He wouldn't actually hurt me while I was in an infirmary, right?

"I'm not angry," he scowled, turning away from me and crossing his arms.

"Do… do you want me to take that job?" I asked, trying to figure out what he was so worked up over.

"It's your choice," he said, a bit less angrily.

"Well, it is a better job than here," I said slowly.

"So you're taking it," he said flatly, more a statement than a question.

I bit my lip. "I don't know."

Peter began pacing again. I remained silent as he walked back and forth, hoping he would say something. I was scared to ask the question burning on the tip of my tongue, whether he wanted me to stay or not.

Suddenly, Peter spoke up. "I could probably convince Oreius to let you train with Ed and I. I mean, if you stay here."

_Wait, is all his anger and pacing because he actually _wants_ me to stay here? _I thought, surprised that he cared.

"Who's Oreius?" I asked, rather eager about the possibility of training with him and Edmund. I had seen them both fight in my own time. And that was when they were 1300 years out of practice. I could only imagine what great warriors they would be in their own time, even though they presumably had only been training since their arrival in Narnia.

"General Oreius is the centaur in charge of our troops and training us," Peter explained.

We were then interrupted by Susan hurrying in.

"Caspian? I heard you finally woke," she said, her voice as sweet as honey. As usual, the sight of her took my breath away. "I'm surprised Lucy isn't already here. She checked in on you as often as she could the first few days."

"She did?" I asked.

"Mhmm. Peter, did you tell Caspian here of King Lune's offer?" Susan asked.

"Yes," he said with a scowl.

"I don't think Peter wants to lose you," Susan teased. Peter's scowl depend. "So, have you made your decision?"

"Uh…. I haven't decided," I said. I was annoyed at myself for not saying anything more eloquent.

"High King! High King!" a bird said, flying into the room. "King Edmund says he needs to speak with you straightaway!"

"I'll be back," Peter sighed. "Think it over, Caspian." He kissed his sister on her cheek and quickly left. Susan moved to sit by my bed.

"I hope you're quite comfortable, no?" she asked.

"Yes, your majesty. I hardly feel any pain."

"We have the best healers, and the dryads grow the best herbs," she bragged. "But, anyways, what are your thoughts on King Lune's offer?"

"Ah… I'm not sure. It's a really good offer, but I love Narnia," I said. That seemed to be the right thing to say, for her face lit up at my words. "But… Pe-High King Peter's been rather vocal before now about him not really wanting me here…" I trailed off, hoping she would explain Peter's strange action.

"He didn't at first. Well, you _did_ start off by insulting him. But he's fond of you, even if he won't admit it. He showed it by how worried he was when we found you all bloody and unconscious after you fought those criminals. But he's not always good at expressing such feelings. We believe that's part of the reason Edmund went – never mind. Anyways, I get the impression he really wants you to stay," she assured.

"Really?" I said, beginning to grin.

"Absolutely," she said, returning my smile with a small one of her own. My heart jumped. This was the first smile she had given me. Finally, some progress, even if it was just the teeniest bit. And even if it took me nearly dying to receive it.

"Do… do you want me to stay?" I asked hesitantly.

"If my brother and sister do, then of course I do," she said briskly, evading my question.

Lucy entered. "Hello. A little birdie told me you were awake, Caspian."

"Hello, Queen Lu!" I said cheerfully, smiling at her. I was surprised to find my smile was unreturned. Peter returned a moment later.

"Ed just needed one of my keys. So, do you still need more time for your decision?" he asked.

"I'm staying," I said, carefully looking for his reaction. He looked triumphant for a moment before replacing his expression with indifference. Susan smiled diplomatically, with no real emotion behind it, it seemed. Lucy, surprisingly, just gave a small smile. I figured her reaction would be her normal over-the-top excitement.

"Good. You start again as soon as the healers say you're ready to work again," Peter said.

"Yes, sire."

"Come, we should let Caspian rest. He will heal faster that way," Susan said, linking her arm into her brothers and leading him out, leaving Lucy and me alone.

"Um, hi, Lu," I said.

"Hello, Caspian," she said emotionlessly. For anyone else, it might be more or less normal, but this was very strange for her. It was closer to how she was acting when we were in the How rather than her regular personality that I've come to know.

"Lu? What's wrong?" I asked, worried something was wrong.

"Nothing," she said shortly.

"Really, what's wrong?" I pressed.

She sighed and crossed her arms. "Caspian, why did you keep muttering and moaning my _sister's_ name when you were unconscious?"


	9. Even More Trouble

**Poor Caspian... it seems like he runs into trouble at every turn... and trouble's still going to be finding him ;)**

**Lucy's POV**

I glared at him.

"Um… are you sure that's what I said?" he asked.

I just gave him a look, not deigning to answer such an obvious question.

"I… I don't remember saying it," he said.

"Well, no duh, you were asleep," I said exasperatedly. I started wondering why I thought he might be interested in me. And why I was so interested in him. If he had only confessed to liking Susan now that I confronted him, he would have impressed me much more. But now he's not only more interested in my sister but also a coward for not admitting it. Unless he just didn't want to hurt my feelings.

"I… maybe I said something else," he said lamely. "And you just misheard."

"I know what I heard," I said firmly. "I'd rather you tell me what that was about than these lame excuses you are making to evade the point."

His mouth gaped open and closed like a fish for a few seconds. "I… I don't know what you want me to say."

"I want you to explain why you would be saying my sister's name in your sleep," I said. "Oh, bother. Why am I even here? I have much better things I ought to be doing. Goodbye."

"Wait, Lu! Please!" he cried out.

As much as I wanted to leave, I couldn't bear to act cold to an injured man. "What?"

"Please, you're my only friend here," he pleaded. "Don't be angry with me. I – I don't know why I said her name. I mean, she is pretty, but… She reminds me of someone I knew before."

"She reminds you of someone you knew before?" I repeated dubiously.

"Yes, someone I… rescued in the woods. Her and her sister had borrowed my horse to go on an errand in the woods, but I had a bad feeling about it. I followed them and rescued her from Telmarine soldiers who had attacked them. Her sister had already escaped, since she had decided to give herself up so her sister could run free."

Something about what he said seemed to have a ring of truth about it. And it was a rather detailed story to make up on the spot. And so sweet! And yet, I wasn't quite convinced a similarity to some Telmarine girl he rescued was the only reason he was interested in Susan. "So… wouldn't it make more sense for you to have said _her_ name, not Susan's?"

"Ah… I was attracted to Susan because of the similarity, but I would never act on it. She hardly notices me. It took me nearly dying to get the chance to have a half-way decent conversation with her," he said. But he was far too upset over her ignoring him for someone who had no interest on acting on his attraction to her.

"She'd never be interested in you. You're too… young for her," I said, skipping over the fact that she would also never let herself be seen being courted by a servant. Not that she disliked or looked down upon servants. She even encouraged my interest in Caspian, saying he seemed like a decent, nice man. But other countries looked down on servants and since she and Peter were the eldest, the other countries expected them to marry for alliance. They would be highly insulted if Susan was to marry Caspian. Ed and I could get away with marrying for love since much of what we did went unnoticed thanks to our age.

To my surprise, his lips pressed together in a smile of sorts, as if he was trying to hide laughter at some joke I wasn't privy to. He then said, "I said, she just looks like someone I know. I much prefer hanging out with you. You're just so… refreshing and open."

"I best be going. I do have several matters to attend to," I said importantly, trying to make the matters seem more important than they were so I could leave. I didn't know what to make of those last few words.

"I wouldn't want to keep a queen from her important duties," he said with his usual teasing chivalry. I almost smiled back just from instinct, but didn't. I didn't feel like his reasoning was enough to reassure me. But I knew what would. Caspian hesitantly added, "You're not going to tell S-Queen Susan about this, right?"

"No, of course I'm not going to tell her," I said, sweeping out of the room quickly.

"Ed," I whispered once I found him. "I need to speak with you."

He quickly excused himself from the counselor he was working with and found a room for us to talk freely in. "What's happening?"

"I need you to not tell Susan and Peter…" I began.

"By the Mane, nothing good could follow that sentence. But what is it?" he said. I told him what had happened with Caspian, forgoing the part about my being attracted to him. When I was done, he said, "And you don't want me to tell Peter? He'll be furious we kept this from him."

"He'll be furious no matter when he finds out. If he does, that is. But Caspian claims its just because she looks like that other girl. If he's telling the truth, we don't have to worry about anything," I said, not wanting Caspian in trouble. Peter was never fond of Susan's suitors. Or mine, the very few that I've had. Edmund was just as protective over me, but not so much about Susan. I think that was a matter of her being older than him, so he didn't feel like he could be overbearing like he was with me.

"So why tell me?" he asked.

"In case Caspian isn't being honest. There was something a bit off about his story. Like he wasn't telling the whole truth, you know? So I figured you'd want to know so there's two of us to keep an eye on him," I explained.

"Got it. And we should probably try to keep them separate as much as possible," Edmund mused. "Which will be harder now that Peter actually trusts him. With good reason though after that rescue. But still, we wouldn't want him to do anything to tarnish our sister's reputation."

* * *

**Caspian's POV**

I never thought I'd be relieved to be busy doing work, but I was getting rather bored doing nothing in the infirmary. But Peter seemed to be going easy on me to keep from my getting hurt again.

"Caspian, how much do you know of Telmarine economics?" he suddenly asked.

"Um… not much, sire," I said slowly. I knew plenty, but it was all about 1300 years later. I don't really think our economy remained the same for 1300 years.

"Hm… we just got a request from a trader to set up trade routes there," he said. I looked at him, startled. Was he actually letting me in on his work? Maybe I could finally learn something about being a king!

"Aren't more trade routes always better?" I ventured. My uncle had always been trying to establish more trade routes, so I was going off of that.

He gave me a withering, patronizing glance. I guess I wasn't completely in his favor yet. I ducked my head back into the closet I was cleaning out for him to avoid him, but to my surprise, he actually answered my question. "No, we need to keep in mind the costs of moving products, which increases significantly with distance. And the danger of pirates and such. And it seems Telmar has a tariff which also affects potential profit for Narnia."

I looked back out at him. He had already turned back to his work, as if he had never even bothered to address me. I sighed and went back to organizing. At least he was sort of confiding in me. This was an improvement, but not as much as I would have liked.

"Caspian," Peter suddenly beckoned.

"Yes, your majesty?" I asked, walking over to him, limping just a little.

He suddenly frowned. "You alright? You can talk the day off if you aren't ready yet."

"No, I'm fine," I protested. I didn't want him thinking I was weak.

"Alright. Then go find Susan and ask her what her plans are for the trip tomorrow. If she needs more help, then stay with her. I don't particularly need you today," he said.

"Yes, sire," I said, elated by the chance to have a legitimate excuse to speak with Susan. Suddenly, my leg didn't hurt me so much as I hurried to find Susan.

"Queen Susan!" I called when I finally found her with Edmund. I had no clue why, but Edmund scowled when he saw me, although he quickly hide it with an emotionless face and a civil nod in my direction. Great, now he hates me? As soon as I'm sort of in Peter's good graces, I somehow fall out of favor with Edmund? And I no clue why.

"What is it?" she asked in a civil, but remote manner.

"High King Peter told me to ask you about your plans for some trip tomorrow? And said if your majesty needs help, that I am to stay," I said, with a short bow.

"Perfect! I could use your help. Is Peter bringing you on the trip tomorrow?" she asked, her voice becoming less detached.

"He didn't say. I don't even know what this trip is about," I said. I desperately wanted to go though. If Susan was going to be there.

"It's just Peter and I … and our guard of course. We're taking a short tour of neighboring cities to ensure that everything's running smoothly," she explained. I perked up. Now this sort of thing seemed much more interesting.

"It's too much for someone who is still healing," Edmund disagreed. I wasn't sure if he really meant it or this was an excuse.

"Oh, but of course. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself again," Susan said gently. While I was so glad to be in her good graces and that she seemed to care about me, I still actually wanted to go.

"Actually, the fresh air might be helpful, my lady. And I think I'm healed enough," I said eagerly.

Susan clucked her tongue disapprovingly and said, "You're just like my brothers. They would never admit to being hurt either."

Edmund laughed and joked, "That's because we never are, right?" Susan playfully smacked him on the arm.

"Silly boys. But Caspian, please don't exert yourself. We can't afford to have someone injured on the trip," she said.

"I'm fine," I protested. "I'm absolutely sure I could do this."

"Very well then," she said, making me elated. "If you are so well then, can you make a few deliveries for me?"

I sighed. Back to mundane, boring work. But this time it was for Susan. Maybe once I was done with these deliveries I could find some excuse to chat with her. If Edmund wasn't still there that is.

As I left, I could hear Edmund disagreeing with Susan about my being able to go on the trip.

I finally finished my errands and found her again, this time alone thankfully.

"Finished so quickly?" she asked.

"Yes, your majesty," I said, glad that my speed seemed to impress her. "Do you have anything else you wish me to do?"

"I suppose then you are mostly healed if you finished so quickly and still have energy for more," she said with a small smile.

"See? I'm the hardy, resilient type," I bragged.

"Well, I suppose we won't have to worry about you then," she said with a light, beautiful laugh. "But Caspian, I did want to ah…warn you."

"Warn me?"

"Many of the creatures we meet won't be so happy to see a human in our group. Especially Telmarine. You just need to give them some time to… adjust to you. Most will just be scared, especially the young ones. Some might be aggressive, but let us deal with them, alright? Don't fight anyone," she said.

"Um, if they're attacking me, shouldn't I fight back?" I said.

"Nay, for then they will twist that to use as an excuse against you. But rather, let us deal with it. By not acting, you'll gain their trust, and we'll make sure none actually hurt you," she said. It actually was a good idea. I had never thought of it that way. Fighting by not fighting. A perfect paradox.

"I understand. And if they're scared of me?" I asked.

"If they're young and their parents are there, then perhaps the parents will introduce you," she said. "If not, then let us introduce you. Having someone they trust like us will make them accept you more easily. But don't push them either. And we'll have you stay behind when we visit certain dwarf clans and a few others that were even hesitant to accept us. Still are a bit actually."

It was clear to me why Susan was named the Gentle, although I didn't know if she already had that title or not. I wouldn't have even thought to worry about such things. Which could have been bad if I had tried to force peace between the Telmarines and Narnians. When I'm king again, I'll be sure to remember this plan of hers. "A quick question though, if you don't mind, your majesty. Why were only some of them hesitant to accept you if you're human?"

"Because we were Aslan's chosen and just saved them from the White Witch. And the prophecy of course. Have you heard about all of that?" she asked, suddenly remembering that I shouldn't know about that even though I did from the myths. I pretended to not know it though, so that I could speak with her longer. My little white lie was rewarded by her talking for quite awhile about what happened. Granted, there were several interruptions by others who needed her attentions as well, but at least I had her only somewhat divided attention. And I discovered that some of the things my professor told me were incorrect. Time must have changed the tale. I had heard that Edmund had received a sword and shield from Father Christmas, but apparently he wasn't even there. And I had no clue what this Turkish Delight sweet was that Susan kept mentioning. All I knew was it had been some sort of sweet. I could only assume Turkish Delight was a sweet from their world, although I didn't understand how the Witch would then be familiar with it. And the entire backstory of them in their own world had long been lost. It was all quite fascinating to me.

"Oh, forgive me. I've been rather babbling on when all you wanted to know is why they accepted us for despite being human," she suddenly said.

"Oh, no your majesty. It was all rather fascinating," I said eagerly. I was finally being able to be her friend, to talk with her freely. "If there's more, than I beseech you to continue."

"Well, I have much more pressing duties to attend to," she said, pressing her lips together. My heart fell. I had overstayed my welcome. Even worse, it looked like Edmund was walking over.

"What's going on here?" he asked, letting just a note of suspicion be visible in his voice.

"I was warning Caspian about how some of the Narnians might react to him. And then telling him our story of how we first came to Narnia," she said.

"I'd rather you not waste my sister's time, Caspian. She might be too polite to say so, but she had much more important matters to attend to than _you,"_ he said with thinly veiled derision. What had I done to deserve his contempt so quickly?

"It's no matter, but I should get back to work," she said, trying to calm her brother. "Caspian, please sort these reports for me alphabetically. Oh! You… you are literate, I hope?"

"Yes, of course," I said, a tad offended. But since it came from Susan and not one of her brothers, I assumed it was not meant to be offensive.

"Good," she said to me before turning to her brother. "See you later, Ed."

As soon as she was gone, Edmund gave me a dark look. "I'd rather you not spend so much time alone with my sister. People may… talk. You know how it is."

"We were just talking!" I protested.

That hardly seemed to placate him. "The two of you were _alone. _I don't know the Telmarine culture very well, but no respectable man in Narnia or Archenland would ask a respectable woman – a queen no less – to be alone in a room with him. Otherwise, others may assume that they were acting inappropriately."

I was rather shocked by what he was implying. "I… I would never!"

"I won't have my sister's perfect reputation sullied by you," he said, a bit too fiercely.

"I would never!" I shouted again. I didn't know where this was coming from. It's not like he knew my feelings for… wait, did Lucy tell him? "Did… did Lucy tell you, um, anything?"

He sized me up for a moment, but even that was enough to let me know she must have told him. But to confirm my suspicion, he then said, "About you saying her name in your sleep? Yes, she did,. She didn't want to tell Peter since he was sure to overreact. Or Susan, in case it was just that story you claimed about some Telmarine girl looking like her. But she told me so there would be two of us to keep an eye on you. Which apparently was quite necessary."

"It's not!" I protested. "Pe-High King Peter sent me to help S-Queen Susan with whatever she needs. It's not like I just randomly came here."

His scowled deepened every time that I almost slipped and referred to his siblings without their titles. It was just so hard to remember after not having to back in my own time. But Edmund probably viewed it as my trying to get to close to Susan. I had been underestimating Edmund's anger and protectiveness of his siblings. He was always so quiet and in Peter's shadow when I knew him before - or later I guess since its 1300 years in the future. But here, he's clearly a king and not to be crossed either. He grabbed me by my collar in the same movement that his brother had my first night here. He forced me to look him squarely in the eye and enunciated, "Caspian, stay away from my sister. If not, I _will_ tell my brother, the High King, and you _will_ pay for it."

I would never underestimate King Edmund the Just again. He was just as strong and dangerous as his brother. But he wouldn't be there when I went on the trip with Susan and Peter. So I just needed to make her fall in love with me even faster. So that she would overrule Edmund on letting me spend time with her alone.

* * *

**Susan's POV **

I couldn't believe what I was hearing as I leaned against the wall just outside of the room. Caspian said my name in his sleep? By the Mane, he hardly even knew me! It was as though he was from one of those true love at first sight fairy tales. Granted, our life in Narnia felt rather like something out of a myth or storybook, but nothing would ever make me believe anyone could fall in love so fast! And our only interaction before today was him on trial and his mistake of referring to my name without my proper title – something it seemed he was still having a problem with. When Edmund gave Caspian an ultimatum, I quickly walked away, knowing he was likely to storm out after that. It only took me a second to decide what my next action would be.

I'm sure Lucy would get over him quickly. She had seemed to have fallen for him hard, but what girl doesn't get a bit obsessed with her first crush? But if Caspian was relentless in pursuing me, it wouldn't be long before something was misinterpreted and broke Lucy's heart. If she thought I had done something with Caspian, that was sure to hurt her. But him being sent away now? She'd be upset, but it would pass. And on my next trip to the Lone Islands which was coming up, I would see if I could get some men her age to return with me that would be her type.

I was also rather annoyed with Edmund. I could take care of myself, thank you very much. And what I was about to do would ensure that Caspian would not be able to do anything to our family at all.

"Royal brother, we must have private conference with your majesty," I said, realizing I was interrupting him and some foreign dignitary.

"Forgive the interruption, but our royal sister takes precedence over all. Our advisor, the Lord Amrite has our leave to act in our place," he said.

As soon as we were alone, he took my hands in his, "What is it, Su? You look anxious."

"You… you need to dismiss your servant, Caspian," I said. "Today."


	10. Blurting Out Secrets

**Susan's POV**

"What? Why?" Peter protested.

"You don't even like him," I pointed out. "I would have figured you'd want to dismiss him."

"I can't just dismiss him for no reason. Especially after he saved Prince Corin's life. And I like him well enough," he said. "Besides, it's not like you to impulsively say something without a given reason. So what's going on?"

I was prepared for this possibility. I didn't quite hate Caspian enough to tell Peter the truth though. That would make Peter ridiculously furious. But there was something I could play off of that wasn't quite true, but would make Peter dismiss Caspian without much fuss.

"I assume you have read the report from the birds working undercover in Telmar?" I asked briskly.

"Of course," he said. "You're…you're not saying that you think Caspian's involved?"

"Do you really want to risk it? I know Lu's friends with him, but she'll understand when we tell her."

"You know he'll ask why. And if he is involved, we can't tell him, because he'll tell the Telmarines we are aware they are looking to invade Narnia," Peter frowned.

"You're the High King; he's a servant. He can't demand a reason," I pointed out.

"Still, if he is involved, he might suspect… And what's that saying from the other world? 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'? We'll have to keep a close eye on him," Peter mused. "Perhaps Edmund. He's the best judge of character."

I gritted my teeth. He had a good point. But that didn't help me… but then again…if Peter was keeping a close eye on him, he was less likely to try to make advances towards me. Unless he really was an idiot. In the meantime, I would make sure to do absolutely nothing to encourage his interest.

"What's wrong, sis?" Peter suddenly asked. "Do you really want him gone that badly?"

Oops. I hadn't controlled my emotions enough to mask them from my brother.

"Nay, brother. But, he does rather get in my way. Please do not send him to 'help' me again," I said smoothly. Peter seemed appeased.

"Very well. My apologies. I meant to send him to aid you, not bother you," Peter said, hugging me. I felt a twinge of guilt about how easily he bought into what I said. But I was relieved that he would be keeping Caspian from me.

"It's no matter. I've finished everything I need for our trip," I said, kissing him on the cheek. "You best get back to your meeting anon."

"The trip…. Ah… We should meet up later to talk about that," Peter said. "We can't have a possible Telmarine spy on it."

* * *

**Caspian's POV**

The next day, Peter called me to confront me. "You won't be traveling with us tomorrow."

"What?" I said, shocked. Why had his mind changed since yesterday?

He raised a hand to silence me and said, "Susan and I talked it over and do _not_ wish to have to deal with any… liabilities. And with you injured, we cannot have you slowing us down."

"I'm fine!" I protested.

"Our mind is made up," he said in an annoyingly superior tone. "In the meantime, you'll be working for Edmund. It's better you stay here anyways. Lucy and Edmund could use help with Susan and I gone."

I winced. The way Edmund had been treating me, this was sure to go horribly.

"Please… can't I work for L-Queen Lucy instead?" I asked, anxious to stay away from Edmund.

Peter made a poor attempt to hide him rolling his eyes. "Go report to Edmund, Caspian."

"But –"

"_Now_, Caspian," he reprimanded. By Aslan, it was so hard being a servant. I had no way of changing Peter's mind. Unless I could come up with a convincing reason. But nothing was coming to mind. While I was trying to think of a reason, Peter interrupted with a pointed "Why are you still standing there?"

I wanted to roll my eyes back at him, but instead I simply bowed and left to report to Edmund. But I ran into Susan who must have just left his room.

"Queen Susan," I said, grinning. She looked as beautiful as ever, even as harried as she was from her preparations.

"Caspian," she nodded curtly. It seemed the friendliness between us from yesterday had disappeared already. Back to the beginning, it seemed.

"Pe-High King Peter said you no longer wish me to travel with you?" I asked tentatively.

"That is right," she said coolly, trying to walk past me.

"Why not?" I asked, blocking her way.

She hesitated and said, "Did Peter not say?"

She didn't fool me one bit. She wasn't sure what bogus reason Peter gave me. "Not really. So, why?"

She bit her lip and seemed to be searching for an excuse. She finally decided, "If Peter did not give you our reasons, I see no reason why I should. Now, let me pass."

"Not until you tell me why," I said. I knew I was coming off a bit whiny, but I really needed to know. I had my suspicions earlier, but the way Susan was acting made it clear there was more to it than me being a 'liability.'

"Excuse me?" she said coldly, drawing herself up and crossing her arms. "And who are you to demand anything of me?"

I wanted to smooth her anger over with some consoling, impressive words. But all that came out was, "Ah… um… I… sorry."

"You should report to Edmund, as I know Peter planned to ask of you," she said pointedly. She began to leave, but my arm was still blocking the hallway. "Remove your arm."

"Please, your majesty," I pleaded. "I need to know."

"You'll be more helpful here," she said offhandedly.

"You would have told me before if that was the case," I pointed out.

"Caspian, I do not owe you an explanation," she said, sounding annoyed.

"But can you please give me one?" I pleaded, feeling like a young child for having to beg so.

She seemed to be staring me over, making up her mind. She then gestured for me to follow her into an empty room. "Caspian, I overheard. I would rather pretend I didn't, but you force my hand. I haven't told Peter though."

"So… you know?" I asked, shocked.

"That Lucy caught you saying my name in your sleep? Yes," she said curtly.

"I…it was about another… some… some girl back home," I said, knowing that excuse was wearing thin.

"I'm not an idiot, Caspian," she said, rolling her eyes impatiently. "You also haven't exactly been subtle about your interest in me. So don't try to play me like a fool."

It was this fire and will that had always attracted me to her. And her perceptiveness. But now it was very much working against me. "I…. I… Is it really that bad if I'm interested in you?" I blurted out.

"You are a _servant,_" she reminded haughtily. "Lucy being seen with a servant is questionable enough. But as the eldest queen, I have no choice but to marry a lord at the very least. A prince or king, more than likely."

Rather than depressed, I felt elated. She didn't despise me personally. But I was still no closer to her than I was before. If only I could tell her the truth. But Aslan had told me not to…

"I hope you understand?" she said, arching an eyebrow.

"Ahhh, of course, your majesty," I said uncertainly. How could I convince her otherwise? An idea came to me. "But… I'm not a servant in my own country."

She looked startled, but then shook her head. "I don't care if you're in line for the throne of Telmar. You creep me out."

"W-What?"

"We've barely had any interaction, and you act as though you are head over heels in love?" she shot. It hurt. I knew it wasn't true, but there was no way she knew we had met and fought alongside each other before.

"I – um," I stammered.

"Love at first sight and that sort of nonsense is only fit for storybooks and myths," she said. How ironic, since her life had almost become a myth in my own time.

"It's not like that," I protested.

"Then what is it like?" she challenged. "You don't even really know me!"

"Yes, I do," I blurted out. But what I was remembering were the close, intimate moments in the How. The secrets we shared. Our doubts, worries, dark thoughts, everything.

"No, you don't," she said.

"I know you shoot arrows because it makes you feel free, I know that … that you hate it when men try to shame you into being a traditional woman. I know… I know that you've never felt close to your parents and feel guilty that you're secretly happy they're out of your life," I said, unable to stop myself. She gasped and gaped wordlessly at me for several seconds as I kept blabbering on idiotically. "I know you've felt more at home in your other world than here. I know – "

I stopped as I saw her eyes flash angrily. They narrowed as she shoved me against a wall, raising a knife to my throat. "How the _Tash_ do you know all that?!" she demanded angrily.


	11. Supposed Sorcery

**I'm so sorry that it's been well over a month since I last updated! Thank you to the reviewer who pointed out that this should be updated! **

**Susan's POV**

I was trembling from fear even as I held the knife to his throat.

"How do you know?" I repeated furiously. It made no sense. How could anyone know my private thoughts as easily as if I had spoken them out loud? Never had I written them down, never had I spoken them out loud. And yet this upstart was babbling them as though they were common knowledge. I was terrified. How much did he know about… about everything? Any passing stray thought, any dangerous state secret?

"I… I just do," he offered lamely.

My sole response was to press the knife at his throat even harder. I regret to say that I felt no remorse at the time. A tiny trickle of blood ran down his neck.

"I… Would you believe me if I said you were the one who told me?" he said timorously.

"Nay. Answer me honestly, you liar," I said as hot tears streaked down my face. How dare he say such things? Did he mean to mock me even further?

"I… That's as honest as I can be!" he said, visibly panicking.

Someone must have seen me and sent for Edmund because he suddenly showed up and pulled me back.

"Susan, are you alright?" Edmund said anxiously. He pulled his sword out and faced it towards Caspian. A few of the guards who had arrived with him pulled Caspian off the wall and forced him to kneel before us. Caspian only put up a half-hearted struggle. "What has this cretin done to you?"

I had a good guess what Edmund was thinking. He probably assumed Caspian had made improper advances to me. I decided to at least set that record straight first.

"Brother, he has not done to harm me. Physically at least," I assured. Although I hardly know why I bothered. What he has done is much more dangerous.

But Edmund kept his sword raised resolutely. "Then what?"

"I... He knows… everything."

Edmund furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"He… started sprouting out my deepest, darkest secrets. Ones I've never told anyone," I said, trembling a little.

"Like what?" Edmund asked, placing an arm on my shoulder to steady me, making me realize that "trembling a little" was the wrong assessment. I was convulsing wildly.

"I… I can't say. If I thought I could, I would have told you them before. But they – they," I said, overcome by tears and shaking. Edmund quickly dropped his sword to pull me into a tight hug.

"Whatever it is, Su, I'll be there for you. You have no reason to hide anything from me," he whispered in my ear.

"I… One of them was that I'm secretly… secretly happy Mother and Father are no longer in our lives," I whispered just loud enough for him to hear. Edmund would understand. My other siblings wouldn't, but Edmund had never been too close to them either.

"You needn't keep that secret from me. I understand," he said quietly in my ear, squeezing me tighter. He then released me and faced Caspian. "How is it you know our royal sister's thoughts?"

Caspian seemed terrified, but remained silent.

"Answer!" Edmund demanded.

"Ed? Su?! What's going on?" Lucy cried as she ran in.

"He somehow knew Susan's secrets. Secrets she never even told us," Edmund said furiously.

"You've been sharing secrets with him?" she asked me, confused.

"No! And I've not written them down neither. There is no way he could know what I've only ever thought!" I cried out. Lucy's eyes widened.

"Sorcery," Edmund accused. "It's the only possible way."

"Caspian?" Lucy gasped, looking towards him for some denial, but Caspian remained staring at the ground, offering no defense.

When Edmund saw that Caspian wasn't even attempting to deny it, he made a sound of disgust and gestured to the guards. "Bring him to the dungeons. And I want at least three guards on him in case he attempts to break free with magic."

"Ed, I really don't think that's necessary!" Lucy protested as the guards dragged Caspian out. He barely showed any signs of resistance.

"He somehow managed to get inside of our sister's head. Such treason deserves prison at best," he spat. "Most likely execution."

"Really, Ed. He saved Prince Corin if you don't recall," she pointed out.

"It could be a ploy to trick us into relaxing our guard around him," Edmund snarled.

"He's known how to play us so far. He lured you in," I said, wrapping my arms around my naïve, little sister, suddenly remembering how quick Lucy had fallen for him. She'd never shown such interest in a man before. Had he somehow used magic to ensnare my precious sister? I shivered and pulled her in closer. I had no clue how to protect her against magic.

"I don't think he did," she said stubbornly.

"He knew how to play us all perfectly," I continued, freaking out the more I thought about it. "How to mess with our minds. He… he tried to pit us against us by flirting with both you and me, but underestimated how strong our bond is."

Lucy shivered a bit, but didn't argue against it this time. I think I had finally gotten through to her.

"Lu, how about you go find Pete and fill him in on everything?" Edmund asked.

As soon as she left, he explained, "Lucy'll try to argue Caspian's side. Which is necessary if we want him alive long enough for a trial. Once Peter hears of this, he'll be sure to lose control if Lu's not there to calm him."

"You… you think Peter'll do that?" I asked anxiously.

"Su, Caspian somehow _read your mind_. He's too dangerous to let live. And Telmar's our enemy right now. More than likely, there is much more he's already told Telmar. And we've let him in our inner circle so oft! He's had ample to chances to read all our minds. All sorts of state secrets, knowledge of all of Narnia's defenses! And intelligence on Archenland too since they were here. I only thank Aslan that he idiotically blurted out what he knew about you in time for us to take action against him," he said angrily. "We'll have to rework all of Narnia's defenses since we don't know how much of it has been compromised."

It… it almost all made sense. "But… why tell me though? That is what makes little sense."

Edmund scratched his head and admitted, "Ay, there's the rub. I haven't figured out that bit of puzzle yet. Perhaps he was taken in by your charms and thought it would impress you?"

I shuddered involuntarily. "It sounds frightening, and yet I fear you may have guessed it. He as good as confessed his intentions towards me. And when I shot them down, he was quick to point out he was not a servant in his homeland. And – "

"So he admits it," Edmund interrupted.

"Admits what?"

"That he is no ordinary person in his homeland. All the more likely that he is working for the Telmarine government."

I gasped. I hadn't thought of it as that, but Edmund was right. "And… why else pretend to be a simple servant unless he is a spy? I fear you are right, brother."

"Go on with your tale," he prompted.

"I told him he creeps me out, how he acts like a fool in love though we've interacted perhaps three or four times. And how he does not know me. That's when he claimed he did."

"And proved he did by stating your inner thoughts," Edmund concluded. "Su… do you want to talk about those thoughts? I'd love to help you think through them."

"I… I already told you about Mother and Father."

"I much confess, I've hardly even thought of them. You're not a bad daughter, Su," he reassured.

"And… that shooting arrows make me feel free," I continued. "And I hate being shamed into a traditional woman. And… And nothing. That's all of it."

Edmund grasped my hand. "Su, that's not all of it. Those two you just mentioned, those are easy enough to guess. He surely must have said at least one more shocking revelation to have disturbed you so. Please. I want to help you."

"No!" I said, trying to yank my arm away from him. "I can't tell you!"

"Su, I just want to help. Get it off your chest. You'll feel better about it then, promise."

"I…. He… said… I… I feel more comfortable in my own home than Narnia," I finally managed before bursting into uncontrollable tears. Sure this would infuriate Edmund.

He silently looked me over before asking, "And… that's… that's true?"

I nodded desperately.

"I'm so sorry, Su," he said while hugging me tight, much to my surprise. "I… I hadn't realized how hard living here was for you."

"You… you aren't angry with me?" I whispered.

"Of course not! Su… If there's anything I can do to help…"

"No… I just… it's nothing. Just an idle thought that occasionally passes my mind. And… the past few weeks, I hadn't even thought that. I… I wonder how he could have known."

"Well, we know very little about sorcery, making it hard to predict the possible extent of that villain's powers," Edmund concluded. "Su, we should probably meet up with Pete soon. Lu should have been able to calm him by now, and he'll be expecting full reports from us. You... I'll back you up if you want to keep your secrets private though."

* * *

**Caspian's POV **

This visit to the royal dungeons was easily the worst. They believed me to be a supernatural threat, so I always had at least two guards intently watching me at all times. Even when I particularly wanted privacy if you understand what I mean. I was started to become rather self-conscious from all the staring. It's as though they expected me to start chanting spells or casting charms at any moment.

And no visitors. I could hear Lucy's voice at the entrance of the dungeons, arguing with a guard posted outside, trying to get in. But apparently Peter had banned all visitors and specifically said even Lucy was not permitted to see me. What did they think was going to happen? Did they seriously think I was going to start… I don't even know… start shooting out spells at them? I would never hurt Lucy! Or any of them…

I got up to pace about my tiny cell a little more, anxious for something to do. Even that mundane movement made the guards reach for their weapons in anticipation.

When guards finally came to take me to the Throne Room, I was surprised at how little time had passed. I figured it would take awhile to get court together. But then again, if they believed me a sorcerer, they were probably terrified of me and wanted me disposed of as quickly as possible. That thought was… horrifying. I felt my palms grow sweaty in anticipation.

I only wish I could tell Susan the truth. She had seemed so terrified, believing her private thoughts compromised. But at the same time, I was rather elated. In my own time, it hadn't taken her long to open up with those thoughts to me. And yet, she has said none of them to anyone here. She must really trust me. Or, future Susan really trusts me. Right now, I have to face a Susan who's terrified of my supposed powers. This was so confusing and terrifying.

The guards pushed me to the floor in the center of the Throne Room of Cair Paravel. I saw all four of the Pevensies wince a little at that. I suppose they do then care enough about me to not want to see me abused. But none of them said anything about it. A few of Susan's handmaidens surrounded her in feeble attempts to comfort her. Not that any of her siblings looked that much calmer. They must really believe me an evil sorcerer. That hurt more than anything. All I wanted to do was to get to know them, to have the chance to learn from them. And… even be their friend if I could. It was terrible to know they thought me capable of turning against them so.

There was an astounding amount of whispered chirping, growling, and such filling the room with a buzzing din. But the moment Peter finally raise his hand to quiet them, the room fell into a deathly silence.

"Thou hast been charged with using sorcery to plot treason against Narnia. What sayest thou in thy defense?" his voice seemed to echo around the room.

"Nothing, sire," I said in a hollowed voice. I hadn't even thought of that. But they must have assumed I broke into their minds to find more secrets. But even if they had levied lesser charges against me, how was I to defend myself against accusations of sorcery? Aslan had told me to say nothing of the time travel.

"Then may the penalty for such high treason be execution," Edmund said. I bowed my head in trepidation. If I die in this time, do I die in my own time as well? I felt numb from fear.

_Aslan! Aslan! _I called in my head desperately. But no lion appeared.

"But even now, thy sentence may be lessened," Edmund said in a somewhat softer tone.

I looked up apprehensively.

He continued. "Tell us what information thou hast gleaned and to whom thou hast given our royal secrets."

I bit my lip. I had no way out. I could attempt more lies, but that was sure to fall through. Especially when I didn't know of any actual secrets other than what I knew of them from my own time.

"I… I haven't given anyone information, your majesty," I said softly.

Other than perhaps Lucy, no one looked as though they were even considering what I said to be possible.

"Then thou hast chosen death," Peter said definitively. "As his main victim, our royal sister Queen Susan shall select the method of execution."

I dared to look up at the queen's face. Her skin had turned pale white in fear. Peter leaned over to take her hand and whisper something encouraging in her ear. Although he was looking rather pale as well.

After a long pause, Susan said something. I had to strain to hear it, but she had made her decision: "Beheading."

I shivered. At least beheading was quick. My uncle was in favor of hanging, a long and torturous process. Special criminals were sometimes beaten to death or burnt at stake. And I've heard of other countries which have vile methods of execution such as hanging a person to a cross. But I should have known that Susan would not want to elongate the pain. Her heart was too gentle and loving. And quite frankly, from their faces, it didn't seem like any of the Pevensies truly wanted me executed.

"We shall send for an executioner anon," Peter said. "In the meantime, return him to prison with his guard tripled."

I was surprised it was going to take time for an executioner to show up. That rather implied they didn't have one on hand. What kingdom didn't have a royal executioner ready at hand? I almost was disappointed to wait. My anticipation grew by the moment. At least when to moment came, it would last but a few seconds rather than a long, torturous process.

As soon as the Four swept out of the room, the guards yanked me to my feet and shoved me out of the room and back down to the dungeons. They were crueler than they had ever been before, most likely because they knew I was to be killed. Or perhaps because they too feared me to be a dark sorcerer. From what I had seen of the Narnians in both my own time and in the Golden Ages, Narnians – other than those that were sympathetic to the White Witch such as Nikabrik – were rather terrified of magic. Perhaps because other than the magic deeper than the Deep Magic, I couldn't think of a single instance where magic was used for them rather than against them. Who knows? Maybe if I had lived in my own time rather than coming to this time seemingly to die, I would have fallen victim to magic. Or else, someone I love such as some future son.

While grim thoughts entered my mind, I was thrown into a small, dimly lit cell. It was lit just enough for them to keep an eye on me. By them, I mean several of the largest, most terrifying Narnian guards. I suppose maybe I should be flattered that they think it takes so many of them just to guard me? I almost considered making a futile attempt at running away. At least then I wouldn't have to keep dwelling on my death. I was fairly sure that the large tiger that kept licking its lips would be more than happy to give me a quick death.

But after about an hour or so, there was noise at the entrance to the dungeon. I couldn't see what it was from my cell, but I could hear voices. One in particular was suddenly quite clear to me: Peter.

**Well, now Caspian's in as much trouble as he could possibly be! Although now Peter's randomly here, who knows what might happen next. Any guesses? ;) **


	12. Time Traveling

**Caspian's POV**

"Sire, I beseech you, do not get too close to him," a guard cautioned. But Peter ignored them and came to face me straight on.

"I trusted you," he hissed. "We all did. We took you in when you had no one here for you. Why would you betray us?"

"I… I haven't. But I have no proof that I did not betray you," I said.

"How I wish I could believe that," Peter said derisively. "But anyone who hides such sorcery while using it to probe our minds is no friend to Narnia."

"I didn't! I mean, I… I can't explain how I knew all that about Susan. But it's not sorcery," I pleaded on the thin hope that Peter might take my word for it.

"Alright," he said slowly, looking me up and down. "Explaining it is the only way we might let you live. So you best start explaining."

"I can't," I said in a small voice, flinching in anticipation.

"Can't?" Peter said, anger returning to his voice.

"Please, Sire, I would if I could," I said. "But I can't."

"Then even if you had some sort of reasonable explanation for this – although I can think of none that would satisfy me – you still are disobeying orders by not answering the question," he said with a scowl.

"Yes, your Majesty," I said exasperatedly. As if that mattered. They were already going to kill me.

Peter seemed to be thinking something over. He finally said, "Everyone else, leave us."

A series of protests came from the guards. Peter raised a hand for silence and said, "Stay just outside the door where I can call you if need be. But he hasn't even tried to attack in anyway so far. And he's had ample opportunity."

The guards seemed less than happy, but obliged. I was rather surprised that Peter seemed to be thinking rationally for once. That made for a pleasant change.

"Caspian, I _want_ to free you. Give me a reason too," Peter said.

"Really? You… want to free me?" I said, oddly touched.

"You… you've become a friend. Loyal, helpful, someone I could depend on. I… Or so I thought," he said, his voice growing bitter at the end.

"I am. I swear I am!" I said excitedly. He had never even said such things in my own time when I was more his equal. I hadn't even thought he might compliment me when he thought me to be merely a servant. I wouldn't have… maybe I need to reevaluate how I treat servants in my own time. If I lived to return there that is.

"Then prove it! Tell me what you've told the Telmarines. Tell me how you peered into Susan's mind," he said, almost sounding desperate. I… I had figured they weren't eager to kill me, but I hadn't thought Peter of all of them would have cared so much about me.

"I'm so sorry, High King. I want to tell you the truth! I really do. But… I can't. And if I did and I told you why I couldn't, then you would despise me for telling it," I said, frustrated.

"That makes absolutely no sense," he hissed, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me.

"I know. I know. I… I really can't do anything. And… I want you to know, I understand completely why you need to execute me. I just want to know… is Su-Queen Susan alright?" I asked.

His face hardened. "No thanks to you."

"Can… can you tell her I beg her forgiveness? I know it's too much to hope for her to come see me herself, but I need her to know, I never meant to hurt her," I said.

Something must have gotten through to him because he nodded. But then he frowned. "What was your intent then in scaring her so? In peering into her mind in the first place?"

"I swear, I didn't! I can't explain how I knew though," I said in frustration. We were just headed in circles now.

"I believe you," he said unexpectedly.

"Ah, you do?"

"If you had magic yourself, I've been standing right here for quite some time, giving you ample opportunity to attack. So someone else must have provided you with a magical trinket to read minds or perhaps some potion. Give us a name, and I swear they'll be the one to die, not you," Peter said.

My hope deflated. "I … there's no magic trinket or potion. It's… more complicated than that."

"Then what _is_ it?" he growled.

"I… I can't explain," I said desperately.

"Again with the 'can't explain'!" he exclaimed. "Tell me! Or do you want to die?"

"No! But I can't!"

"Caspian, this is no time for playing about. Tell me!" he shouted.

"I can't!"

"Liar!"

"No!"

"Traitor!"

"Please, Sire!"

"Tell me!"

"Aslan," I blurted out without thinking.

Peter froze. "_What?!_"

"I… Aslan… he… he sent me back in time. I know it makes no sense, but that's how I know stuff that Susan hasn't told anyone yet. Because she tells me in the future," I said reluctantly. After all, how much more trouble could I possibly get into? And Aslan had yet to save me, so he wasn't exactly around to reprimand me for disobeying him, now was he?

Peter stared at me silently for what felt like several minutes. Looking back, it was probably just a few seconds. But then he slapped me, hard, saying, "You. Filthy. Liar!"

"Ahh! What?" I said, rubbing my cheek which still stung.

"You dare mock us by claiming it was the will of the Lion?" he demanded. "Goodbye, Caspian. Unless you suddenly decide to confess, the next time I see you will be your execution day."

He turned and left before chance to say goodbye. Although how exactly does one respond to a farewell like that?

I lost track of time. While I was in prison, the boredom made it feel like forever. But when the guards came to bring me to be executed, it felt like only a few hours had passed.

The execution was outdoors. It was cruel irony that is was a beautiful day outside. Sun shining, bright blue skies.

Peter was standing on a balcony of Cair Paravel, his siblings behind him. Lucy seemed to not be looking up from her hands, probably not wanting to see the scene before her. Susan was at least managing to look up, but her eyes were determinedly avoiding mine and the executioner's. Edmund had a stoic look on his face, as unreadable as ever. He had no problem with meeting my eyes. Rather, he kept them on me at all times. Like his brother, Peter's face was a mask, but his uneasiness peeked through. And he seemed only capable of looking at me in short, uncomfortable glances.

I was pushed before the makeshift executioner's block and forced to kneel with my head on the block. At this point, Lucy looked up but quickly buried her face in her hands. Edmund took advantage of this moment to take care of his sister rather than seeing my execution. Peter looked as though he was going to be quite literally sick. Susan seemed to be praying at this point, much to my surprise. Praying for what, I had no clue. That is would be over quick I guess. If so, then I agreed with her.

A hooded figure approached who I could only imagine was the executioner. He was a lot shorter than I had imagined. And by a lot shorter, I mean I had been imagining maybe the size of Wimbleweather. But this dark figure wasn't even the size of Reepicheep. When he approached and threw back his hood with a thrust of his head, I could see the creature was a rabbit of all creatures. But the rabbit meant business. His axe was already sharpened. I closed my eyes as he lifted the axe.

But no blow came. I opened my eyes and was completely confused by the scene before me. Everyone seemed to be frozen in time in what appeared to be a picnic…

I looked around me and saw Aslan behind me.

"Aslan!" I cried out. "You came."

"Of course, my child. You seem to have gotten yourself into quite a stew of trouble," he rumbled, sounding amused.

"I… sorry," I said, my cheeks burning. "I… I didn't mean to do all this. And I… I tried not to disobey you. I don't know why. I was just so … so … scared."

He touched his snout to my forehead and said, "Peace, child. You've been through a lot. I did not come here to scold."

"Aslan, what's going on around me?"

"Their memories have been modified. It will be as if you were never here. And if you weren't, this is what would be going on right now. The Kings and Queens only had their memories of these events returned now that you have traveled back in time. But it is time for you to return to your own world."

He breathed and the scene spun around until I was back at the Battle of Beruna. Thankfully, Aslan had somehow managed to change my outfit. I sure didn't want any of the Telmarine soldiers or meaner Narnians to see me dressed as a prisoner. That I would never live down.

Edmund and Peter helped me get up since the time traveling had made me rather dizzy.

As we worked together, finishing up business at Beruna, Peter finally said, "Hey, um… sorry for umm…"

"For nearly executing me?" I said wryly.

"I don't suppose sorry really covers nearly executing you," he said sheepishly.

I shrugged. "I honestly can't say that I would have reacted that differently if I was in your place."

"Still. Feel kinda bad about that."

"Same here," Edmund said. "Not really sure how one makes up for falsely throwing you in jail as a magical traitor then trying to execute you."

It really felt good to have them treat me this way for once. And a bit awkward really. I honestly wasn't mad at them. I honestly should have known Aslan would never let anything truly bad happen to me. "Really, it's fine."

"Execution and jail are fine?" Edmund said wryly.

"Well, the second never actually happened," I pointed out.

Lucy had joined us and said, "Ahhh, you're all getting along now! That's fantastic!" She seemed to be over her interest in me, probably because she's much younger in this time, over a thousand years later.

I glanced over at Susan. "All" seemed to be excluding her. To anyone else, she seemed merely engrossed in her work in organizing the Telmarines and Narnians, but I knew she was avoiding me.

I finally sought her out that night.

"Hi, Su," I said. "I can call you by just that in this time period, right?"

She almost smiled at my teasing. "Of course. And I'm sorry I overreacted to that before."

"No! It's perfectly fine. But… ahh…So… ummm… you've been avoiding me."

She was taken aback by the question, but then recomposed herself and said coolly, "Then perhaps as a gentleman, you would respect my wishes to not speak with you."

"Susan, please," I pleaded. "All I want to do is talk."

"NO!" she shouted. I stepped back, startled. But then she started shaking, and to my surprise, began crying.

"Su…Susan?" I asked hesitantly. "What's wrong?" She didn't even react when I put my arm around her in hopes of somehow comforting her.

**So Caspian's back now! Meaning the story is almost done... Just a few loose ends to wrap up now that he's in this world. I don't have any plans for a sequel, but if someone suggests something that inspires me, I'll consider it!**


	13. One Last Kiss

**Thanks for following this story through! Sorry for taking an inordinately long amount of time to update.  
**

**Caspian's POV **

"Caspian, I…this happens to me all the time! I've never had an honest unmarried male, human friend outside of my brothers' friends. And a few married men who I thought were genuine friends turned out to be just interested in me _that_ way too! By the Lion, why do the men I know insist that two single humans of differing sexes can't just be friends?" she said, hands flailing about wildly.

"Susan! Susan!" I said, placing my hands on the outside of her arms, careful to keep my distance. "We're friends! I…I'm sorry. But I know now you aren't interested in me any other way and that's perfectly fine! What's important is our friendship. Friends. Is that alright with you?"

She gave me a withering look. "I've even had men say that, and then complain incessantly about how they are 'just a friend' as though that is somehow a _horrible_ a thing to be! Complain about the men I actually might be interested in. Complain that I'm being _rude_ even when I treat them like _any_ other friend! Because at one point they were interested in me, but not I them. How the Tash is that fair?"

"It's not," I said quickly, trying to calm her down again. Although I knew there must be quite a lot of history there for her to be so upset. "Susan, I'm not interested in you. I mean, I was. But I love your family. Friendship with all four of you, I swear that's all that's important to me."

"Are you sure?" she said in a small voice.

"Susan, I think it's simply horrid to assume a women's interest. The only reason I pursued you so heavily in the Golden Ages is because I misjudged our friendship here as possibly being something more that could have existed there if you knew me as you did here, but I was just making a fool of myself acting that way," I said, hoping to placate her. "And I regret it. You're …I should have been spending my time trying to be your friend, trying to learn all I could from the four of you in order to be a worthy King. I'm sorry."

She smiled which, even though it was just a small smile, raised my spirits. "If you really do mean that, then it might help to know that if I wasn't so freaked out by how you magically seemed to read my mind, I might have been interested in you too. But not in this time. It's not going to work out here."

I paused, unsure what to make of that. "I swear I mean this. On my father's grave, I swear it."

"Then you must mean it then. After the tragedy at the Telmarine Castle, we all know just how much that means to you," she said, surprising me by pulling me in for a hug. Telmarines weren't nearly so affectionate with people who were not romantically inclined, but I had seen her do the same with her brother when she was fretting over him fighting Miraz, so I assumed this must be a sisterly gesture in either Narnian culture or the world she was from.

"And in case you ever think this could work out, just know I will never approach you again. I don't want to break your trust in me. But who knows? If someday you do think it'll work out and approach me, I might be the one to turn you down," I teased.

She laughed. "You're great, Caspian."

"Unbelievable, a compliment from you? That's a first," I teased some more.

"Hey, I've complimented you before!"

"When?" I challenged.

"Ah…Um…Ah…I have a short memory?" she attempted, giggling. "We should get back to work. We will have more than enough time for talking soon. Well, after all this, and your coronation, and – "

I grimaced at the word coronation.

"You don't like the idea of a coronation?" she inquired.

"No…I just…Still don't think I'm going to be a good king," I confessed.

She softly put her hands on my cheeks and looked straight into my eyes. "Caspian, you are going to be an amazing king. Someday, there will be just as many legends told of you as there are of us. Perhaps more even. You have a good heart. It will guide you to make the right decisions as long as you do not let your anger cloud your judgment."

I placed my hands over hers and pulled them away from my face so I could clasp them and kiss them. "I swear I will make you proud, my Queen."

"I know you will."

* * *

**Susan's POV**

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" I said, punctuating each word with my fist against the wall the first moment I got alone. Well, mostly alone. Peter had followed me into the armory where I had gone to start taking inventory in case we needed to fight against any Telmarines not content with the shaky surrender.

"If this is how the Gentle Queen doth curse, the Narnians must indeed be savages," he teased. I glared at his ill-timed joke since we had had far too many Telmarines whisper about the savage Narnians, demonic Trees, barbarians, and the many other things they thought we could not over hear. Granted, we as humans couldn't overhear, but our various Animal soldiers who report to us have hearing capabilities far more powerful than humans. At least such stupidity might lead us to overhearing a whispered treasonous plan.

"Will you shut up?" I said exasperatedly, picking up some armor to begin organizing. I could never take inventory of such a disorganized mess.

"Not even an insult back? You are irritated if you don't want to spar with words," he said, looking more concerned. "What has you so upset?"

"Caspian," I said shortly.

"Do I need to challenge him to a duel?" Peter said a bit too eagerly. The sword he had just picked up did not help either. I was only mostly sure that he had picked it up to help me organize.

"No! You know how no words have ever made me fall in love?" I said.

"Yes…I always did figure if a man ever caught your heart, it would be through actions, not words," Peter said questioningly.

"Well, apparently there are words that could make me fall in love. Ones I've never heard any man say sincerely before," I said slowly. "That he isn't in love with me and is perfectly fine with being friends."

Peter simply stared at me blankly several seconds before bursting out into laughter. "Are you serious?" he chortled.

"Oh, shut up!" I said, slapping his arm lightly.

"So, by saying he isn't in love with you, you fell in love with him?" he laughed.

"No, it was more the way he valued our friendship so. Made me feel like he did truly care about me personally, not just as Queen or as some woman to wed who's replaceable with any other pretty woman," I explained.

"Ahhh, that's a bit less ridiculous, but still. Loads of suitors would have saved themselves a lot of trouble if they knew that was all they needed to do," he teased.

"Not all of them were capable of being just friends with a woman. Some seemed to think it was a chore or a punishment," I retorted.

"Then they're stupid," Peter said easily. "Really stupid actually. Even if they felt that way, you would think they'd be smart enough to hide it if they were still hoping for a chance with you."

"Peter!" I protested.

"Just teasing you."

"Besides, Lucy had feelings for him. I can't ignore that," I said.

"She'd be thrilled if you married him. With the age difference her, she thinks of him like an older brother – not that she doesn't already have more than enough older brothers," Peter teased.

"I…Really?" I said hesitantly, not sure how to factor in that new bit of information.

"Let's go talk with Aslan," he said, wrapping his arm around me.

"Why the sudden urge to speak with Aslan?" I asked, bemused.

"Before you go all lovey dovey over loverboy, let's see if we can find out how long we'll be in Narnia this time," he explained.

"I said I might be falling in love! I'm not going to me an idiot over him," I protested, annoyed by Peter's teasing.

"I just don't want you to get your hopes up if we have to return to England again," he said, much more softly. My heart melted a bit. As irritating as he could be, it was moments like this that made me so grateful to have him as my brother.

But the high I got off of having such a supportive brother quickly crashed when we found out that we would be returning to England soon. I saw Caspian walking up to us, but I didn't have the heart to tell him. Even if he didn't have any interest in a romance, he had become a close friend to all four of us, both in the Golden Ages and now. More so now seeing as we were about to execute him. Oops. But it would break his heart for him to know we were leaving. I knew it would be better to tell him that sooner rather than later, but selfishly, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Peter was no help either.

Thus, we ended up at the tree Aslan had enchanted without anyone but Aslan, Peter, and me knowing that it was time for my family to leave. But when the Telmarines insisted that one of our number go through the tree to prove it's not deadly, Peter and I knew this was why Aslan told us we had to leave so soon. Why Peter and I would never return, that I had yet to figure out. But oddly, I was content with it. Being in England would be easier for both of us having accepted that we couldn't return instead of always wondering if an entrance to Narnia might be just around the corner.

We said our goodbyes to the various Narnians, saving Caspian for last. Peter made some noble gesture by giving Caspian his sword. I gave a sideways glance at the Narnians. It seemed Peter's gesture had at least some positive impact since the Narnians who had been still doubtful of Caspian, those who I thought most likely to cause trouble with the Telmarines, now looked approving. It quickly became clear though that no one had truly understood that Peter and I were not returning. I spoke up to make it clear. I was slightly annoyed that Peter gave the Narnians hope that they might see Lucy and Edmund again. Last time 1300 years passed. What were honestly the chances that they would return, oh, I don't know, a just a few years later in Narnian time? Ridiculous to believe that. I'd sooner believe that our annoying cousin Eustace was fated to visit Narnia than I would believe that.

Afterwards, I had to approach Caspian. I had to say goodbye.

"It would have never worked anyways," I said teasingly.

"I know…" he said, bemused why I would bring it up. "But why?"

I wasn't sure if he was asking why not or if he was asking why I was bringing it up. I went with assuming the former.

"Mostly because I am 1300 years older than you," I teased.

He grinned, but then it faded away as he realized what I meant. I hadn't even realized what I meant until afterwards. That what was keeping us apart wasn't a lack of love but issues from the outside. He smiled thinly, understanding that it was the last time. I walked away, afraid to say goodbye. I could feel his eyes following me.

Dammit.

I hurried back and kissed him, unable to control myself any more than I was apparently able to control my unusually high amount of cursing today. He froze, taken by surprise, but quickly returned. He hugged me tightly, but then let me go, accepting our fates as I had. That's when I knew he'd be a great king. Because understand sacrifice just as my siblings and I did.

In just a few moments, we were back in England at the train station. Disoriented, we almost didn't get on at our station until that one guy who I had given the name "Phyllis" to earlier asked, "Aren't you coming, Phyllis?"

We quickly remembered where we were, grabbing our bags and getting on the train together.

"Do you think we'll ever get back?" Edmund said unexpectedly. When we all gave him annoyed looks, he protested, "I left my new torch in Narnia!"

When we got a moment alone, Peter teased me, "So, _Phyllis…_"

I glared at him. He knew quite well I've given my middle name plenty of times before to annoying boys to get them off my back. He just grinned, "Should I tell this loverboy the secret to your heart now that I know it? Apparently all he has to do is say he's not into you."

"Oh, shut up!"


End file.
